emotional wounds
by Zachura
Summary: will Sakuras inner wounds ever heal or must she have revenge to move on. What happens to Naruto? Is Kyuubi taking him over. what does Tsunade need to tell Naruto? wah keep reading! kakaxsakuxsasu naruxhina m for sex, violence, language...
1. Chapter 1

It's kinda violent, and well, sexual, and blood and yeah, you name it. So if you're soft hearted, don't read, I'm warning you.

We're in the future, where our lovely shinobi class has turned nineteen, and facing the issues of being an adult.

Not sure how long I'll make this, but we'll soon find out now won't we?

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishamoto or something like that; none of the characters are mine.

It was a lovely afternoon in Konoha, and at the towns' bridge, the famous Team 7 waited for their last team mate. Hatake Kakashi.

As he no longer was Sakura, Naruto and Sasukes teacher, he came on missions with them as a team mate. They all enjoyed his companionship, and they all thought he had a lot to tech them still, so they referred to him as teacher.

Naruto whined constantly, and inner Sakura cursed Kakashi for being late, all the time, Sasuke was silent and gave them glares that told them that he actually agreed with them, but that he had to keep his cool image.

Even after Sasuke had escaped from Orochimaru and heard the real truth about Itachi and his reasons for killing their clan, he still acted like he hated everyone.

He didn't want to talk about what had happened between him and Itachi though, it was a touchy theme and none of the villagers pushed him on that case.

To Sakuras dismay, Sasuke still didn't have an interest in her, but she had mostly come over that now, and had a boyfriend of her own.

She didn't really like him though, her standards had become pretty low after Sasuke turned her down, and she seemed to pick up trash that even the most desperate ugly girls didn't want.

She also had a new guy every week. Her self esteem was bottom low, and she couldn't even look at herself in the mirror anymore.

Naruto on the other hand was happy as ever, at a age of nineteen he was a soon to become father, and Hinata was his girlfriend. They had just moved in together in one of the Hyuugas smaller family houses. Neji had been more or less happy about their relationship, but when he had heard about Hinatas pregnancy he had fainted.

"Where is he?" Naruto whined and looked around. Sakura sighed and leant over the railing.

"Probably lost on his way to life." She murmured and stared absently into the swirling water. She wondered how it would be to come home that night, if her boyfriend was drunk or not, or if he came home at all. She shivered slightly and touched the black bruise he had given her on her thigh. He had a tendency to get rough when he got excited, or rougher than he was normally.

"Yo, fellow jounins." Was his awkward greeting, as it was quite obvious that Kakashi hadn't really swallowed the fact that the young children he had gone trough something close to hell with, ha grown up so fast and now had the same rank as he.

Though none of them had achieved the dream job as an ANBU.

Naruto wished to become an ANBU, Sasuke as well, Sakura wasn't entirely sure about what she wanted yet, and didn't really believe she was strong enough to become an ANBU. The reason why she beat herself so much about this was probably because her boyfriends told her how useless she was.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head and smiled lazily at the angry Naruto, as he shouted their former senseis skin full.

"I remember a time when you guys used to respect me." Kakashi sighed and smiled, giving off an aura of nostalgia. Sakura sent him an odd look and snorted.

"I lost my respect for you the first day we met." She said and smiled. Kakashi looked at her questionably.

"How so?" He asked.

"When you came into the classroom and got a sponge in your head." Sasuke answered for her, and Sakura nodded her agreement. Kakashi smiled and sat down on the railing.

"I saw you with your new boyfriend yesterday?" Naruto said as he walked alongside Sakura. Nothing much was happening, and Konoha was short on missions, so team seven had gotten a d-rank mission. They were walking dogs.

Sakura threw him a quick glance and smiled troubled, had he seen how he had treated her as well?

"When are you going to find someone you can be happy together with?" He asked pure heartedly. Everything had worked out for him, he lived happily together with Hinata, and he had his own little gang of fan girls and resembled the legendary Yondaime in every way possible.

Sakura gave him an angry glare.

"It's not like I'm settling down for anything." She muttered and looked away, meeting the curious gaze of Kakashi. He smiled brightly when their eyes met and turned away.

"But you should at least try yourself on someone you care about, and that cares about you back." He paused and glanced over at Sasuke.

"One who won't break your heart?" He murmured and a sad smile appeared on his face. Sakura felt bad for getting irritated with him, and tapped his shoulder gently, getting his attention. She tried to say something, but the words got stuck in her throat and instead she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Naruto." She whispered, gaining odd glances from the two other shinobis.

Naruto stiffened at first, but softened up and hugged her back.

"Sakura, you know you're so much better than that." He whispered into her ear, and she smiled, knowing inside that he probably lied, just to make her feel better.

By the end of the day, Narutos big dog had escaped ten times and chased thrice as many cats up in trees, and then they had to get the cats down again.

And after all that work, they still got small amounts of money. The four of them went home disappointed.

They parted by the bridge, but as Kakashi and Sakura lived in the same part of the village, they walked together home.

"So, how are you doing?" Kakashi asked casually. Sakura glanced up at him and smiled.

"I'm doing good, how about you, Kakashi-sensei?" she asked, he didn't seem like he believed her, but shrugged it of and gave her one of those lazy smiles he was so famous for.

"Fine. Here's where I live. So if there's anything you need help with, you know where you find me, right?" He said and squeezed her shoulder gently, like he always used to do when they still were genins. She smiled meekly and nodded, before waving goodbye and continued on her way home.

As she came closer to the dark apartment at the second floor, which belonged to her boyfriend, her footsteps slowed and finally she stood still in front of the door which leads into the dusty and mouldy apartment.

She reached for the door knob and turned it, opening the door with a soft click. And shutting it with a loud squeak.

"Saki saki?" Came his husky voice from the living room. It was his pet name for her he thought it fun, because it resembled sake, and he loved the two of them almost equally. Sakura came second though.

"Yeah, Rayuu?" She answered absently and hooked the kunai belt over a knob. She continued into the kitchen and met Rayuu in the door that connected the kitchen and the living room. He grabbed her and shoved her up against the wall. His greasy hair was tied back into a low thin ponytail and his dark blue eyes seemed shallow and wild.

His thin lips crashed against her own, and he shoved his tongue into her mouth, shoving it as far down her throat as he managed. She gagged and tried to get away from him.

He smelled of rice wine, sweat and vomit. His hand moved down between her thighs and grabbed her hard. She yelped and she tried to shove his strong body away.

He was much stronger than her, and he was an ANBU, so she didn't dare stand up against him, afraid what he might do to her.

He removed her panties quickly and without even getting her wet, he pushed into her, tearing at her insides. She screamed out in pain, which obviously made him even more excited.

"You like it like that, don't you?" He growled into her ear, lifting her up and placing her on the kitchen bench. Slamming into her, making her hurt everywhere, and humiliating her by slapping her across the face.

His face started to turn red, Sakura winced when his nails dug into her thighs, and then he came inside her.

She didn't feel anything after something like this happened; she had made herself deny the reality of it all. She never cried anymore, crying was a weakness, and she couldn't afford to be weak.

Rayuu left her on the kitchen bench like that, exposed to the outside world. She jumped down from the bench and picked up her panties, putting them on again and then she walked into the living room, where she found Rayuu with a bottle of sake.

She placed herself as far away from him as she possibly could and didn't even offer him a sideways glance.

"Sakura, you are really bad at sex, you knew that?" He asked suddenly, Sakura turned red and nodded.

"And I think you've gained some weight, you should eat less, or you'll get uglier than you already are." He muttered and took a swift sip of the bottle. He stared at the bottle before he suddenly slammed it against the wall. Sakura winced and tried not to look his way.

"I mean for gods sake, Sakura. You're my slut; I shouldn't even let you hang out with those guys you hang with. That Kakashi guy especially. You won't walk home with him again, you hear me?" He yelled and rose from his chair, glaring at her. She tried to shrink and disappear, but it didn't work.

"Yeah, I saw you, he was all over you. You're mine, and don't you forget it!" He said and punched her hard on the left side of her face, sending her flying into the wall.

Blood rushed out of a deep gash in her temple, her hands frantically tried to stop the stream, but she was too dizzy to heal it. She couldn't concentrate her chakra into her fists and save herself either.

Rayuu came at her again and lifted her up from the floor, she closed her eyes and waited for the next hit, but instead, she felt his hard dick between her legs again, he just clawed her panties to the side and pushed into her.

The pain was unbearable and she felt like she needed to vomit. She couldn't focus on anything; everything seemed like a blur, all she heard was his panting over her.

"Bitch, I'll show you what I'll do if I see you together with that copy-ninja again." He growled and threw her against the wall. She fell to the floor, but got picked up again and he carried her to the bathroom. He pushed her towards the toilet and shoved her head underwater, while slamming into her from behind.

He let her come up to breathe, only to shove his cock into her mouth and made her take all of him in.

She was slowly falling unconscious by each cruel thing he did to her. Her vision weakened by each second from the loss of blood and the torture he put her trough weakened her senses. And he kept going on forever.

Until early in the morning he went tired after coming over her face and then fell asleep in front of the TV with a bottle of sake in his hand.

Bloody and naked, Sakura crawled towards the door, leading to freedom. One of her nurse dresses hung on a knob by the door. She grabbed it and tied it clumsily around her body the best way she could. She hurt so much between her legs that she barely could walk at all, and the deep gash by her temple was caked with blood, but at least it had stopped bleeding.

She couldn't really think one straight thought, but managed to open the door silently and sneak out of the building. When she tried to run down the street away from the nightmare, which was her life, her knees gave away under her and she collapsed to the ground.

Slowly and on unsteady feet, she got up again and walked hurriedly down the road. No one was out to help her, no one knew what she had just gone trough, and no one would possibly ever know.

She stumbled over a hunting cat and fell into the bushes, she winced as thorns dug into her flesh. Slowly managing to get out of the bushes, she tried to focus on the house she was standing in front. It was one of many apartment houses in the area, but this was the only blue one with red window frames. This was where Kakashi lived, she remembered. She shook her head and started to move on down the street, until she heard a faint call.

"Saki-saki!?" His cruel and cold voice chilled her blood and she knew that her only escape was Kakashi. She ran unsteadily up to the door and found the small piece where it read Hatake Kakashi, elite ninja. She pushed the door bell, and waited a few minutes. The faint call came closer and she started to panic. She pushed the button again and held it in for some time before letting it go. Half a minute passed before the speaker crackled and a groggy; "hm…?" could be heard.

"Kakashi-sensei, please, help me, please…I…" She stumbled in her words and felt the lump in her throat grow larger and tears pressed on her eyes.

"Sakura? What…? Come in." He said, suddenly very awake, the door beeped and she opened it without a sound and stepped inside a dark hallway with a stairway and some post-boxes. The door slammed shut behind her and she shivered slightly.

A door opened somewhere in the higher floors. She made her way towards the stairs and started climbing the steps; she supported herself on the railing and painted it with copper red in the process.

"Sakura, what have happened?" Kakashis voice sounded like an echo in her head and she struggled to lift her head and meet his dark eye and his masked face. The last person she probably would be happy to see was the copy-ninja. And now she felt as if she could have pulled down his mask and kissed him right there and then without thinking at all.

But before she could do that, her eyes rolled back and she started to fall, strong arms caught her mid fall and swept her up into his safe care.

Kakashi brought her back to his apartment, not sure what to do about her. It was obvious that she had been abused, sexually and physically, maybe also psychically, but he had to wait and see when she woke up about that part.

He placed her on his bed and removed her nurse gown and got a wet rag and some hot water from the water. He washed her up, cleaning her from dirt and cum which had been smeared all over her body. One of her eyes was swollen and caked blood covered half of her face. He found hand marks around her neck, on her thighs, around her wrists and on her breasts.

He also found small thorns on her legs and arms, large and small bruises could be found over her whole body. Her upper lip was ripped and her left shoulder seemed to have jumped out of place. One of her toes was broken and her ankle was strained.

Still the worst part was between her legs, Kakashi didn't want to examine her there, but when she moved and showed of two large flesh wounds on her inner thighs and blood came from her vagina he turned white. This was more than he could take, it was the worst he had ever seen, and such humiliation of a human body just had to be criminal. He shielded his eye from the view and dressed her in a large t-shirt he only used to sleep in, as it was way too large after he had cleaned her wounds and bandaged the worst ones, he didn't bandage her thighs though, as he would leave something that serious to the doctors.

He didn't dare to dress her in trousers or anything like that, as it would hurt like hell, but the t-shirt reached her knees, so it couldn't be that big of a problem.

He spread a blanket over her and went to fetch some water for her to drink. When he came back, he sat down by the side of the bed, lifted her head so that she could drink comfortably. After letting her take a few sips, she laid her head back down and watched as she woke from her consciousness and fell into a deep sleep.

Sakura awoke to the smell of pancakes and jam, she didn't want to open her eyes, in case it was just an illusion, but stirred when the smell grew stronger and another smell blended in with it. The smell of a clean man with the smell of the same shampoo Kakashi used, it was masculine and raw, but at the same time sweet and lovingly.

She opened her green orbs slowly and stared up into a white roof, she could only focus on one eye though and her head hurt like hell.

"Ah, you're awake. Here I made breakfast." The friendly voice of Kakashi rang in Sakuras ears and she turned her head to look at him. He looked so, casual, there he stood in grey sweat pants and a white t-shirt with Jirayas autograph on the chest.

"Thank you, for saving me last night…" She murmured, but couldn't talk too much, as her lip hurt whenever she smiled or spoke. Kakashi smiled and placed a tower of pancakes beside the white sheathed bed, and he placed himself on a chair beside the bed.

"It was morning anyway, but I should be the one thanking you." He said and tilted his head to one side.

"For coming to me, and not continue down the road. I heard him you know; roam down the street like the drunken bastard he is." He paused and measured her face, as if looking for an explanation to a question Sakura had missed.

"He could have killed you, in that state you were in." He muttered and looked away.

"I'll be able to heal my wounds myself after I get some energy." Sakura said cheerfully and Kakashis face hardened.

"You may be able to heal those wounds to the flesh, but what about those wounds to your soul? No matter how good a medic ninja you are, Sakura, those wounds will never go away, unless you let someone help you heal them." Kakashi said sternly and gave her a couple of pancakes on a plate. She ate them without looking at him, she knew he was right, but who would help her anyway? The useless, ugly and bad girl she was.

When she was finished eating, she bade Kakashi leave the room, even though he obviously had seen all of her when he cleaned her up and bandaged her wounds. She removed the bandages and stared mesmerised at herself in the mirror Kakashi had brought her. Her left side of her face was almost destroyed and her upper lip had swelled up. She healed her temple first, and the rest of the face. She couldn't do much about the bruises, as they were just blood underneath the skin, and she was no magician.

She braced herself, as she snapped the shoulder back in place.

As much as she didn't want to, she looked down between her thighs and gasped. It was much worse than she had believed, but last night she had been more or less numbed by pain, so anything to or from wouldn't matter much. She healed the wounds thoroughly and healed the walls in her vagina as well. She had studied the human body, and knew everything about how it looked like, so it wasn't difficult to heal a wound she couldn't see as long as she knew where it was.

She had to break the broken toe back in place before she tied it up, and the ankle was just a light strain, so it wasn't any trouble healing it. As she felt quite strong, she also healed the small rips in her skin from the thorn bushes.

When she was done she felt renewed and better than any earlier day, was it because now someone knew what she went trough? It could be, and somehow, Kakashi seemed like a natural choice. He wouldn't tell anyone unless she wished him to.

It was already darkening outside, and Kakashi had apparently left the apartment while she healed herself, so she walked around the apartment, just thinking of nothing and everything.

She found a picture of team seven. They all seemed so happy back then, they had been so young and senseless, and not knowing what awaited them when they grew up.

Her eyes wandered to another picture one the shelf where she had found the picture of them.

A picture of another shinobi team, a jounin with yellow spiky hair and smiling eyes who resembled Naruto so much she could have mistaken him for being Naruto if she met him on the street. A girl with shoulder length hair and a smiling happy face stood in the middle of a black haired boy with goggles on his head and a silver haired boy with a mask. The silver haired boy had to be Kakashi, she thought, but who was the other boy. Rin had she seen around at the hospital, but she was always busy, so Sakura hadn't really talked to her. He was grinning and had black eyes like Sasuke.

"Obito." She spun around and came face to face with Kakashi; he took the picture out of her hands and stared at it.

"His name was Uchiha Obito." Sakuras eyes widened, an Uchiha? And Kakashi had said was, instead of is, meaning he was dead. She searched for the right words, but she couldn't seem to find any words at all and just stared dumbly at Kakashi.

"Your sensei?" She whispered finally. Kakashi smiled and searched her face to see if she was kidding or not, when he found she weren't he placed the picture back on the shelf and smiled secretly.

"The Yondaime." Sakuras jaw fell and she realised that she should have known that.

"On the picture, you have two normal eyes, how, the sharingan, I mean…" She stumbled clumsily in her words and wondered if he knew what she meant; he just nodded and walked back to the bedroom.

"It was Obitos', the sharingan, but it's a long story. Here I bought you some clothes, and underwear, I think I got the size right. Anyhow, the lady behind the counter eyed me veeery suspiciously when I bought ladies underwear." Kakashi said and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Sakura flushed and stared at Kakashi.

"You better have not bought anything vulgar." She muttered and walked over to see what he had bought. He had bought her a black skirt like the kind she had before, a black low necked tank top, a fish net t-shirt over and red gloves and a red shorts. She picked up the underwear and wrinkled her nose.

"You expect me to wear these? Kakashi?" She wondered and stared at the see-trough red g-string, the bra he had gotten her was better; it was red and normal with a few lace roses on it.

Kakashi smiled innocently and shrugged.

"It was the best I could find." He said casually and shoved his hands into his pockets and left the room to let her get dressed.

"We're meeting Sasuke and Naruto three hours ago." He shouted from the kitchen, and Sakura sighed.

"Of course we were." She muttered dejected and slipped into the see-trough g-string and groaned.

"This will be uncomfortable." She whispered to herself, but thought no more of it and got dressed in her new, somewhat plain outfit; she would have to go shopping later, just to add to it. She didn't want to hurt Kakashis feelings by ditching the clothes he had bought her.

The first chapter people, read and review and tell me what you think, I haven't written further so you may be able to have somewhat an influence on the story, yeah?

KakaXsaku will be the main pairing, but if you wish Sasuke paired up with someone I might just slip him in-between the lines here, if that is favourable?

 peace and love…


	2. Chapter 2

The walls start breathing 

My mind's unweaving 

Maybe it's best you leave me alone. 

A weight is lifted 

On this evening 

I give the final blow.

The all-american-rejects - it ends tonight.

**In my dictionary, tragedy is your life. **

Kakashi acted as if nothing was wrong when they met up with Sasuke and Naruto, and Sakura tried her best to hide the fact of what had happened last night.

Naruto and Sasuke eyed them suspiciously when both Kakashi and sakura was being two hours late, it was unlike Sakura. And Sakura had had a makeover it seemed, with a plain new outfit. It was kind of unlike Sakura as well, it didn't seem like something she would walk around in spontaneously.

Naruto walked up to her and circled her with the look of a carnivore, his eyes bore into her and sent chills up her spine.

"You smell strange, Sakura-chan, not very unlike Kakashi-sensei actually." He noted, Sakura blushed and turned away from his penetrating stare, she met Kakashis deep black eye and her blush deepened even more.

"That's probably because Sakura slept at my place tonight." Kakashi said plainly and Sakuras eyes widened in shock, he didn't actually plan on telling them did he?

Narutos jaw hit the wooden base of the bridge and Sasuke tilted his head a little to the right like a dog would to be hearing better.

A crow flew over their heads, almost laughing down at them, and Kakashi smiled.

"And you call me a pervert, what did you think? That I did something to her?" Kakashi chuckled lightly and turned to Sakura with a secretive glint in his visible eye.

"Sakuras boyfriend didn't come home last night and she didn't want to be alone, so she came over to my place and we watched a movie. She fell asleep on my couch." He explained simply and Sakura breathed out not noticing before that she had been holding her breath.

Naruto nodded and Sasuke snorted disappointed obviously.

"I think you really should dump that guy." Naruto said and paced his hands on his hips, with a stern look on his face. Sakura felt a lump in the back of her throat, it was her own fault though, for choosing a guy like him, and she wanted to forgive him, she wanted to forgive him so much it hurt her insides.

"Rayuu, he, he takes care of me. My own apartment, it's destroyed by a water leek, so he lets me stay at his place. He is kind, he is." She muttered, and meant every word of it. Rayuu wasn't perfect, but who the hell was, and if it hadn't been for his support, she would have been sleeping out on the streets.

She threw a quick glance at Kakashi, but he was reading in his small orange perverted book, he had obviously not heard her, or he didn't care. It was probably the latter; she thought bitterly and turned away.

"Okay, so I guess you'll have the rest of this day off, after Naruto messed up again." Kakashi sighed and stared after the medic nins that ran off in the direction of the hospital, with a moaning Naruto on a stretcher between them.

"He just had to take you seriously, didn't he?" And Kakashi shoot Sasuke an accusing glance. Sasuke "humphed" and just stared at the coursing river beneath the Konoha bridge.

Sakura let a smile slip and memorized the memory of Naruto willingly sticking the kunai up his ass, to prove to Sasuke that he was more of a man than Sasuke was.

"Well? See ya." Kakashi said and disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Sakura sighed and walked aimlessly trough the village, helped out here and there, wherever her help was needed. She even helped an old lady carry her bags all the way across town.

After a few hours doing volunteer work, she felt that her self ignorance lifted somewhat, and she could see herself as an individual. The fact that many of these people thanked her with hugs and kisses for her help; it warmed her heart and brought tears to her eyes.

When at last she got tired of running around, she placed herself under a sakura tree in the Konoha Park, and just enjoyed the wonderful spring for what it was. And just this one day, she could forget about all her bad relationships and the lies she had to live with.

Male birds were singing the sweet tune of love, seducing their female counterparts, embracing their minds, tempting their every nerve. And the females fell for the males' sweet song and another generation of birds was ensured sanctuary.

The air was filled with sweet smells and sounds, the lovely atmosphere was there to touch and it tingled Sakuras senses, she felt dizzy felt her mind drifting further and further away from her body. And soon she was sound asleep, with a peaceful expression on her face.

Dreaming of a world so much better than the present one, where everyone was nice towards everyone, and where she had a beautiful daughter together with her handsome husband, with the most perfect smile, and the most wondrous hair, wild silver hair framed his face. And…

Sakura jerked out of her dream, just before she was going to kiss her husband.

"Why would I be dreaming of…" She smelt a familiar scent linger in the air and she jolted around staring into one deep black eye, "…KAKASHI?!!"

She screamed and without thinking she slapped him across the face. His smiling eye lost its happiness and he tilted his head to one side.

"I guess I deserved that for making you walk around in a g-string all day." It was more of a question, than a statement, demanding her for an explanation. One just doesn't slap every person you accidentally wake up and find staring at you.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei, you scared me." She murmured and tried to flash a guilty smile, but failed and it turned into a devious smile instead.

Kakashi didn't realise what was coming before she had pushed him out of balance where he had been crouching beside her, and she started running, laughing like there was no tomorrow.

Kakashi didn't catch her sense of playing at first, but he jumped up in the tree tops after a while and chased after her.

She glanced over her shoulder, but noticed to her dismay that he wasn't chasing her. She turned around entirely and was about to yell something to her former sensei, but got jolted up by two strong arms and was swung around.

She laughed, she laughed so hard that her stomach hurt and she pressed her eyelids shut to not get sick.

He stopped spinning her around and placed her on the ground again, a smile tugging at the corner of his eye. She stared up at him, slightly dizzy and couldn't stand straight.

"Well well Sakura-chan, can't hold your drink?" He said and chuckled; se laughed a thrilling laugh, but had to sit down before her feet gave away underneath her.

He placed himself beside her and ruffled her hair playfully, like he used to when she still was genin, and twelve years old, which made her wonder how old Kakashi really was.

She threw side way glances at him, but couldn't really figure it out.

"Kakashi-sensei? How old are you really?" She asked, he turned to look at her and smiled secretive.

"What do you think?" He asked and tilted his head to the side, making him look like a bird; Sakura suppressed a laugh at the image of a Kakashi bird.

"Well, I'm guessing, 25." She said and nodded to herself. Kakashi chuckled.

"I'm flattered, I take that as I'm aging slowly then, no, I'm about fifteen years older than you." He murmured and chuckled again at her stunned expression.

"You mean you're 34 years old?" She gaped, and just couldn't make that fit into her expression of her teacher.

"Wow, I mean, then you're really old…" She stopped herself and thought about what she had just said and gasped, meeting his darkened eye.

"I don't mean you're old, you're just, so much older than me…that's all." She muttered shamefully and flashed him a small nervous smile.

"And is that bad?" He asked curiously.

"What? Yeah, of course it's bad because then……." She was wide eyed at what her mind had played her, and thank god she had stopped her mouth.

Kakashi measured her up and down, carefully, curious and worried.

"Sakura, you really should dump that guy, to get on the right track again. You're only chuunin; I believe you can become jounin, even ANBU. But as your life and spirit looks right now, none of those things are inside your reach. Get rid of your distractions to reach the goal." He said and patted her back and stood up, ready to leave.

"Kakashi?" Sakura whispered soundlessly, he turned and stared down at her with his one eye.

"Do you think Tsunade is willing to take me as her apprentice again?" Sakura asked and stared up at him with her emerald orbs. He sighed and remembered that day Sakura had turned up in Tsunades office, drunk. Tsunade had been so mad that she had called off her mentorship over sakura and had made Shizune show her out of the building, telling her that she didn't want to see her there again unless it was for a mission.

"She doesn't want you, ending up like she did. It's worth a try." Kakashi murmured and smiled before taking off.

Sakura twined her tumbles, sitting on the bench outside the castle like building where Tsunade had her office at the top floor. Oh how many times Sakura had ran up and down those stairs, with books, scrolls and paperwork, oh so much paperwork.

She let a heavy sigh escape her slightly pouting lips and buried her face in her hands, trying to massage away her nervousness and frustration.

She had been one of Konohas best medic nins, she had rivalled Shizune, and could have become better, she could have come up to Tsunades level.

All those dreams she had had, thrown out the window, like paperwork in a fresh wind.

A choke caught in her throat and she felt like throwing up.

Her mind brought forth a memory about a woman that had come to the hospital with stomach and heart pains, but there was nothing wrong with her health.

She kept coming back though, and she kept getting worse, she had said.

One day they had found her dead outside town, choked to death in her own vomit, and they still didn't know what had been wrong.

Sakura thought she knew, but didn't want to say for sure. She was a medic; she trusted facts, not possibilities and fantasies, dreams or supernatural events. Everything had a reason; everything had to be caused by something material, or something close to it.

The more Sakura thought about it, a persons mind was material, but one person's thoughts were not.

Still she was fairly sure that that woman had died by her own mind, diseased by her own thoughts, and fooled by her own decisions.

How it was possible didn't matter, the fact that it was possibly the truth, scared Sakura.

The woman had had a weak mind, but still, to die by her own mind, it was perverse.

She shuddered and wondered if the same thing would happen to her if she didn't do something right soon, take some right decisions.

"Sakura?" A male voice asked, she heard the bench complain under another persons weight, and the strong smell of blood, sweat and dirt vibrated in her nostrils.

She lifted her head to look into Konohas biggest pervert, the one every young girl et warned against when they walk outside their homes alone.

"What are you doing here?" He asked and leant back on the bench. He had a large bloody rift in his shoulder, dirt in his hair and face, and he seemed pretty much beaten.

"I'm…waiting for a sign." She murmured and sighed heavily.

Jiraya smiled and nodded.

"We all do." He muttered and scratched the inside of his thigh.

"What happened to you?" She asked and glanced at the deep wound.

"Naruto happened." Jiraya muttered grudgingly and snorted.

"The kid's almost at my level now, even with a kunai sticking out of his ass, he can still injure me." He laughed, probably memorizing the sight of Naruto with a kunai in his ass, Sakura smiled and nodded.

"He is, Sasuke too, they are strong." She murmured and slipped long graceful fingers trough her silky pink hair. Jiraya watched her and put on his serious face and slid closer to her, draping an arm around her shoulders.

"It's not talent that matters, but hard labour. Reach the top on talent alone? It's impossible, but hard labour alone can take you anywhere." He squished her in his arm, before removing it and standing up, looking up at where Tsunades office lay.

"Naruto could do it, why can't you?" He asked and placed his steady gaze on her again.

Sakura looked away, closing her eyes.

"Hey, you may feel worthless, but never hopeless, never hopeless. Remember Sakura, she was just like you, like I was like Naruto, and Orochimaru like Sasuke. Maybe the three of you are the next legendary sannins?" He paused and looked up at the top floor again and met Tsunades stare in the window.

"There is always hope Sakura, that is your sign." He said and smiled at Sakura. She stared wide eyed back at him; he had known exactly what to say, what would cheer her up and what would make her feel better.

She nodded and grinned, starting off towards the entrance.

"Sakura, don't tell Naruto what I said okay? He has some way to go still, and I don't need him to get cocky with me." Jiraya yelled after her, she lifted an arm in a gesture, showing him she understood.

She ran up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. Running into a bunch of ANBU at the third floor, she apologized and started on the next set of stairs, but suddenly felt someone grab her shoulder, slamming her into the wall.

One of the ANBU had followed her, leaving the others behind. She stared at him, not sure what to think of the incident.

"Where did you go?" The husky voice wasn't mistakable, the voice haunted her dreams, and she would wake up all wet and shivering.

"Rayuu?" She whispered shakily and tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but he held her so tightly.

"You went to that Copy bastards place, didn't you? Are you cheating on me Saki Saki?" He murmured and leant closer against her.

"Does he awaken feelings in you, which I can't?" he asked threateningly. Sakura didn't dare answer, because if she did, the adrenaline rushing trough her body would make her tongue slippery. This was not the moment you needed a slippery tongue.

"Answer me bitch." He sneered and pushed her harder against the wall. She couldn't breathe; his grip around her throat was tightening by each second passing by.

Sakura glued her lips together and stared at him, eyes wide with fear.

He brought her away from the wall again, only to slam her, the hardest his muscles would allow, against the wall again.

She felt the back of her head connect with the stone wall, she heard the cranium crack, and she felt the dark close around her, and the last thing she saw was the white rabbit mask in front of her, and it was as if it was grinning viciously down at her.

Complete darkness surrounded her, but far away she could see something red, and large glow.

She walked closer; trying to see what it was that was glowing so brightly.

But she didn't move from the spot, and she felt nothing under her feet, as if she was hanging in free air.

She tried to yell hello, to the thing in the distance, but sound didn't escape her. Nothing came from her mouth when she yelled at the top of her lungs.

"ANBU leader Rayuu Hiroshi, you're officially damned from this village, owing to attempted murder on my, the Hokage, apprentice. Meaning, your ass has nothing to do in this building. You have no right to poison our air, you have no right to use these streets, and worst of all, you have no right to show your ugly face in front of Haruno Sakura, ever again."

Thanks to all of you who reviewed on my first chapter, it inspires me ya know.

But still, will Sasuke have anyone in this story? You are to decide

I'm actually giving you a sub author status here, I'm trying to like, involve you.

Aaaanyway, this chapter was slightly shorter than the first one, but it seemed like a good

Place to stop

Tell me what ya think, kay??? ;)


	3. Chapter 3

Hello everyone, the third chapter, yeah?

Things get more serious, and things aren't only about Sakura and Kakashi anymore as Konohas Kunoichis are in danger.

OOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOO

Tsunade paced in circles in her office, angry that the trusted ANBU leader she once knew had beat and abused Sakura, her, former apprentice.

Sakura still hadn't awaked, it was as if her body didn't want to, and her mind kept it from stirring.

Tsunade suddenly remembered the woman that had come to the hospital, nothing wronged her, but one day she was found dead. She had seen it before, people dieing because of mental disturbance and damage, wounds you never could heal on your own.

Sakura had sunk into this pitch of darkness when her father and mother died in the fire two years ago, the huge fire that had burnt off a fifth of Konoha, people had finally started to settle down again.

As far as Tsunade knew, Sakura had never been spotted where the fire had rampaged, she kept her distance from that place at any cost.

And in two years, things had turned out worse and worse for the pink haired young girl.

She had been robbed up to ten times, and as she could not concentrate anymore, she had never been able to defend herself. She was always so unfocused.

"Hokage-sama?" Shizune came into her office with a tray with steaming tea.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, place it at my desk; I'll drink it later on." Tsunade sighed and leant her forehead on the window.

"Who's watching her now?" Tsunade asked, Shizune understood who she was talking about, as if there were no other female patients at all.

"No one, Hokage-sama."

"What?! She needs to be watched at all times, are you people senile or something." And with that she was out the door, hasting down the corridor, and speed of towards the hospital.

She burst inside the room she had placed Sakura in.

"Yo." Came the awkward greeting from the Copy Cat. Tsunade turned towards him and eyed him suspiciously.

"Still unconscious." He murmured and glanced over at Sakura, Tsunade followed his gaze.

"Didn't anyone notice? How she was suffering?" Tsunade whispered and sat down on the chair beside Sakuras bed. Kakashi felt something stab him with self consciousness.

"I did." He murmured silently. Tsunades head shoot up and nailed him to the spot.

"You?" She wondered and rose from the chair, not being able to sit still. Kakashi followed her movements as she paced trough the room.

He didn't notice her fury until she was grabbing his shoulders and shaking him furiously, yelling some blurry words, drowning in the sound of his own mind screaming at him.

He had been holding back information that could maybe save her, or maybe not, but he couldn't be sure.

The only one, who was to blame, was Kakashi. Not Rayuu, though he played a large sub role, but the main criminal in this bizarre play was in fact, Kakashi.

Tsunade kept shaking him, as he turned his face away, not wanting to see Sakuras helpless body in the sickly white sheaths or Tsunades angry and upset face.

This was not how he wanted to see the two women he probably respected the most by all the living women today.

After a while she stopped shaking him and grudgingly let go of his now numb shoulders, he rolled them to start the blood circulation in his arms again, and sighed.

"She came to me, last night. Well, she didn't actually make it to my apartment; she fainted just inside the door of my apartment building, which was lucky, because if she had stayed outside she probably would've been dead by now.

He had abused her every way possible, mentally, physically, sexually, everything…" He didn't want to recall the sight of one of his first students, she had been so torn up and damaged that it made even him sick, and Kakashi had seen some sick things in his career as a ninja.

"I don't understand why she didn't come to me, she always did before…" Tsunade could not go on and finish the sentence, as it was she that had pushed Sakura away in the first place.

"I have been a lousy teacher." She muttered angrily and slammed the wall so hard that dust shook from the roof. She left the wall a large crack.

"That makes two of us then." Kakashi said and slid down the wall, crouching while supporting himself against the wall. Tsunade snorted angrily and paced around the room restlessly.

"Nothing's wrong, she should wake up." She murmured and checked Sakuras heart rhythm for the hundredth time in a few hours, but as her hand fell back to her side again, Kakashi understood that her condition had not changed.

Suddenly the door slammed open and Naruto staggered inside, Sasuke hot in his trail, though the Uchiha looked much more relaxed than the yellow haired jounin.

"What happened, it was that boyfriend of hers wasn't it? I'll kill that imbecile right away, if you give your permission or not, Baa-chan, I'll turn his neck…" "I banned him." Tsunade cut off Narutos furious ranting with the short announcement and left Narutos mouth hanging wide open.

Even Sasuke looked somewhat abashed by the news and let a smirk slip trough his stony mask.

"She'll be happy." He murmured and glanced over at the bed Sakura was placed in, Kakashi followed his gaze.

"Yeah." He mumbled.

"Sakura-chan is the person who deserves most happiness at the moment, she always has." Naruto said and sat down on the chair beside her bed, gripping her hand tightly before he started ranting a number of things he would do if she only woke up.

Tsunade sighed heavily before leaving the room, deciding that her pupil had enough guardians at the moment and let them be.

As Sakura fell into light coma, the confessions started, first out was Naruto who came to just see if she still was fine. He sat silently by her side for some time before he started talking, first about nothing important at all, just silly small talk.

"Sakura, I ate ramen today, you really should've come along with me and Hinata, because she got really upset when she heard what happened to you." He paused and stared at his hands.

"I hope you come back to us soon, you'll wake up for sure, but will you ever return to the way you were? The way you were before your parents' death and all this happened?" Narutos head dipped and he could not bear looking at her.

He said nothing after that; he thought that he may have pushed it too far and withdrew into is own thoughtful self.

After a couple of hours in silence Sasuke came and disengaged his friend, giving Naruto a silent nod when they switched places.

Sasuke didn't really speak at first, but as the minutes drew longer and longer, his thoughts got the best of him.

"We haven't really gotten the chance to talk face to face yet, have we? Not like we ever have, but after I came back from…that place, you have seemed kind of distant." Sasukes feelings towards the time spent with Orochimaru were a strictly taboo theme, so usually he wouldn't even have mentioned it. He sat in silence, watching her unconscious form with his cold black eyes. He had admitted for himself, that the day he returned from Orochimaru, his heart had skipped a beat by seeing Sakura all grown up, but the look in her eyes hadn't been holding that head over heels admiration she used to have. So to keep him from loosing face, he never told her that it was probably the knowledge of her love for him that had kept him from giving his body to Orochimaru right away. The first time Orochimaru switched bodies, Sasuke had made sure he was away. Orochimaru got injured by Naruto, an injury which Kabuto was unable to heal completely; Orochimaru had been forced to switch body before Sasuke got back.

"You know, sakura, now that you're unconscious and can't hear me, probably, I can tell you some things. I was flattered, by your swooning around me, and I hoped that when I eventually came back, that you still would be in love with me. You weren't. I understand that though, I betrayed you, I betrayed Naruto, I betrayed Konoha. At that time it seemed right, although now, everything has been put into a different perspective." He sighed and stared ahead, not seeing anything; he just needed something to stare at, other than Sakura.

"Still I was hoping that you still would stare at me with that loving stare and endless admiration, like you used to. Or at least that stare of desperation, the one you wore the night I left, it would have told me that you still cared, but no. The day Naruto brought me back, you measured me like I was a piece of meat, and you healed my injuries and then left my hospital room. You never looked at me, it felt like you stared right trough me, you never even met my eyes, not even when you examined my sharingan. I must admit, even though I put on this hard mask to hide everything I am, because the cold shinobi is who I have become, I must admit that it hurt slightly knowing that you had moved on, grown out of your head over heels infatuation for me." Sasuke rose from his seat and circled the room slowly, not daring to look at Sakuras pale face. He wanted to tell her so many things, how he actually ached for her, how he loved to see her smiles even though they were rare these days.

"Sakura, even though we can't ever be together, don't you dare die like this, broken down and depressed." He muttered, finding that he had spoken enough and fell silent. His eyes which only a second earlier had mirrored his rare emotions were now cold and black, calculating again.

He was the same old Sasuke, and he was comfortable like that.

Kakashi stood outside the hospital room with one emotionless eye wide opened.

He was shocked that Sasuke had spoken this much in one go, that he had revealed his emotions to sakura, even though she was unconscious, and he had announced himself beat. He had no intentions of standing up and fight for Sakuras favour, he would only sit back and watch her grow old with someone else.

Kakashi could almost not believe his own ears that Sasuke would give up on a girl who had offered so much for him in the past, it was pretty ironic. Sakura tried to the very end to get his attention, but he would give up after just one discouraging look, while Sasuke had given her plenty.

Kakashi knocked silently on the door and caught Sasukes attention; he stepped inside the hospital room. But before he started to discipline Sasuke, he paid his respects towards Sakura.

"If any of this I will now say to Sasuke upsets you, shout at me when you wake up, because right now, there's nothing saving him." Kakashi murmured and bowed. His eye connected with Sasukes, but the younger one didn't seem to flinch.

"I don't want to explain to you how Sakura have suffered, or how much she cried after you left, or how much stronger she have grown on that pain you inflicted upon her, I don't want to break my wow to her, by telling you how torn up and bloody she came crawling to my apartment in the middle of the night after her boyfriend had beat her. Although she'd like to use me as a punching bag for the rest of my life if she hears me now, you need to know just how much she has sacrificed just by loving you. You broke her, you made her the way she is today, and if she hadn't been such a darn good medic you would have seen on an everyday basis, just how much she has suffered." Kakashi said in a monotone voice, but underneath the emotionless vision, Sasuke sensed the protectiveness Kakashi displayed towards his shinobi teams' only kunoichi.

Sasuke almost wanted to pinpoint that if Kakashi knew so much why wouldn't he make her happy himself, but at that particular moment he didn't dare to oppose his teacher, and he silently agreed with Kakashi as well.

"Give yourself a chance to gain her favour, Sasuke, she wants it, needs it. Even though it doesn't show, she still wants you." Kakashi murmured and threw a glance at the silent kunoichi lying in the sterilised white sheets, barely breathing.

"Think about that, or I'll give you something else to think about…" Kakashi let the unspoken threat hang in the air, for Sasuke to taste it and feel the danger lying between those few lines.

Sasuke knew Kakashi had no problems inflicting pain on him. In fact, during his training for the chuunin exams, Kakashi had inflicted hell a lot of pain on Sasuke, both mentally and physically.

Sasuke nodded and Kakashi left him.

OOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo

Tsunade stared at the parchment in her hands, the handwriting was hard to read and she had just translated the note to be very disturbing. It was from Suna, the hidden village of sand, from Gaara the Kazekage. He told her of hard times to come, and how their village had just been attacked by an organisation calling themselves Shippuu Sendo. They were much like the Akatsuki really, except that they didn't kill everyone, they kidnapped the women of the village and somehow turned them to their own favour. Obviously the next village in turn was Konoha, something that tasted bitterly in Tsunades mouth. She called for Shizune to gather all the Kunoichi of the village to a meeting.

OOOOOooooooooo

Kakashi met up with Naruto at Ichirakus and sat down beside the solemn yellow haired shinobi, he measured him up and down and noticed hat the jounin outfit fitted him really well.

"You know Naruto, this must be the first time I see you this down sitting at Ichirakus." Kakashi pointed out and Naruto turned his head towards his former sensei. His eyes were glowing red and his pupils were only slits against the blood red. Fangs pointed out at the corners of his mouth and a sly grin spread on his grim face.

"I just realised, you know. I know I'm slow and all that, you guys have told me several times. What I only just now realised is that, I'm insignificant to this world. If I lay in that hospital now, Tsunade wouldn't run around like a stung puppy, you wouldn't shout at Sasuke for giving up, and even Sasuke wouldn't care." He perked at his food, his Kyuubi eyes still glowing.

"Is it because we will heal anyway, because you guys know we won't die easily. We're a cockroach aren't we? Refusing to die so easily, it's pathetic, that Sakura's lying there just wanting to wither away, why won't you just let her? Fulfil her wish bastard!" Naruto suddenly shouted, Kakashi was shocked, this was not Naruto, he refused to think this was Naruto speaking.

"If it was us lying there, wanting to die, like Sakura does, we would die. No use to be living if you haven't got anything to live for, you should know Hatake Kakashi, after we killed your sensei, you had no one left, are we right?" Naruto ranted and Kakashi felt his breathing stop and his eye widened slightly by the statement Naruto had made. He had never told Naruto or any of the ones on team 7 about his sensei.

"Naruto, how'd you…" is voice trailed off as he met Narutos infuriated gaze. He thought he understood somewhat now, Narutos mind had mixed with that of Kyuubi, but how? The last time that had happened was when he was bringing Sasuke back. He had shouted at Sasuke in a manner that the normal Naruto was incapable of. Sasuke had been taken back by Narutos sudden change of emotions and mood, much like Kakashi was now.

"That's right Hatake, we're mixed, we think very much alike, the kit and I. If the kit had nothing to live for, I would end his life and die with him, and he would do the same for me, though he wouldn't die if I died. Why do you care so little for the kit? He's been hospitalised up to ten times more than that kunoichi, but he never got visits, he never got a twentyfour seven watch. What if he suddenly decided to leave this damn cruel world, would you care? Hatake Kakashi? Or would he only become a new name on that tombstone you are so damn fond of?" Kakashi saw that Kyuubi now had taken control of Narutos mind, but it was not evil hearted like he would believe it was. He actually did care for Naruto; he would even die for the Uzumaki. And even though as much Kakashi tried to deny the fact, he realised that the demon was right. Their fear of Naruto dying wasn't as high as any of the other shinobis in the leaf village. He was a regular at the hospital, but all they did was examine him, and then leave him to heal by himself, because they knew he would, and he always did. Kakashi had never thought this would in any way hurt Naruto, he was always grinning and seemed content enough with life.

Kakashi hadn't asked if Naruto felt alright ever since he came back from his training with Jiraya, only because he believed Naruto was alright, due to him always grinning.

"Even though it may be true, there's no reason leaving Sakura all by herself. Both Naruto and I know that she still have a lot to live for. Her goal was to be acknowledged by Naruto and Sasuke; she always got overlooked in their presence. She was just the girl." Kakashi spoke up and tried to get Naruto out of the gutter and push Kyuubi back into his cage.

"And what did Naruto go trough all his life? After Naruto graduated from the academy and started getting friends, everyone seemed to forget what he had gone trough. You didn't know of all that did you? No that's true, you haven't been with him since his birth have you? I have, and I tell you, his life contains more pain than Sakura have ever been trough. A few abusive boyfriends can't match up with a whole abusive village." The Kyuubi-Naruto growled and Kakashi realised that he was right, but why all this of a sudden.

"Why do you bring this up now, now that Sakura need your support, Naruto?" Kakashi asked calmly and measured Naruto up and down.

"Because Kakashi, the world doesn't stop moving because Sakura's in the hospital, the time doesn't stop because she's depressed. The people around you doesn't stop feeling or thinking just because she for once in several years happen to fall into a coma. If she wakes up, so be it, and if she doesn't? She won't even be written up on your stone, as she did not die fighting for Konoha. She'll be just another depressing stone at Konohas graveyard." Naruto stopped and let the information sink in for Kakashi. "She isn't superior, Kakashi, she's just another inferior human."

Kakashi couldn't believe it, because everything was right. The Kyuubi had a point in what he said, but he still felt that something was missing in the demons description.

"As long as people care for her, she is important, and so are you Naruto." He murmured before leaving Naruto and the Kyuubi to think about it.

OOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Jiraya rushed trough the woods at his highest speed possible with the slippery branches, as it was raining, no, raining was an understatement, it was a monsoon. A kunai flew past his ear and by avoiding the sharp edge he lost his balance and fell towards the ground. Landing on his feet he continued running on the ground.

Another kunai flew past him and graze his neck, leaving a scratch.

He sped up even more, and ran so fast that his feet almost couldn't keep up with him; still they followed hot in his trail.

As he came to the clearing he wanted to reach, he stopped in the middle and bit his thumb.

Summoning the frog boss, Gamabunta. His followers spread out into a circle around the smoking frog, or toad, as you see suit him best.

"Jiraya, what's the meaning of this?" Gamabunta rumbled and looked up at his companion, blowing smoke like a stack.

"They're strong, and they're too many for me to take on alone." Jiraya answered shortly and located all of the attackers and found them to be exactly twenty. The one who seemed to be their leader stepped forwards and bowed.

"The legendary Gamabunta and the legendary Jiraya of the three sannins, it's a pleasure meeting the both of you in battle. To bad we have to finish you off." The leaders' voice was clear as crystal and high pitched, like a womans' voice. Jiraya concluded that in fact was a woman, even though she was covered up so that only her eyes were visible. And her eyes were completely yellow, as was the others of her group as well.

Jiraya nodded in her direction.

"You know our names, why, it's only good manners to tell your name as well, Miss." Jiraya said and smiled. She straightened up and drew two swords from a sheath on her back and connected them on the middle, so that she got a double sided sword.

"The dead don't need answers." She growled and charged at him, Gamabunta stopped her with his finger, (yes, Gamabunta has a finger) and she flew trough the air and hit a tree with enough force to crush her bones, but she merely brushed the dust off her shoulders and glared at the giant toad.

She bit her thumb and smashed her hand to the ground, mumbling some words. Enveloped in smoke, a large dog like demon appeared. He was black with long sharp fangs and red blazing eyes. His long slim tail ended in an arrowhead shaped form. Spikes stuck out of his every dorsal vertebra.

"Gamabunta?" The demons voice was deep and growling, his eyes penetrated Gamabunta with hatred, and Gamabunta returned his hideous stare.

"The nameless one? Haven't seen you in a while." Gamabunta spat back and drew his sword.

The demon dog, seemingly nameless moved his gaze up at Jiraya.

"Ah, so this is one of the legendary sannins, I heard things didn't go so well for that slippery snake, Orochimaru. Killed by his own pupil? A shame." The dog said and bore his eyes into Jiraya.

"Enough talk, let's finish this." The leader called out and jumped on top of the demon dogs head. The dog let out a howl and sprang at Gamabunta, slickly avoiding the toads' katana, and delivered a slash over the toad boss' left eye. Gamabunta reversed his blade with a swift flick of his "wrist" and slashed the dogs' neck.

Jiraya felt the hot spray of blood trickle on his face, and he silently prayed that it was the demon dogs' blood and not Gamabuntas'.

The dog leapt back to avoid Gamabuntas sword, and crouched into a ball, then he started spinning like a wheel towards Gamabunta, with his spikes boring into whatever was in his way. Gamabunta jumped out of the way and slashed down on the spinning demon, but missed by a few inches.

The dog stopped spinning and leapt up into the air extending his dog claws, which actually seemed more like cats' claws. The dog slashed out after Gamaunta, and sunk his long claws into Gamabuntas eye, and clung to the toad as Gamabunta tried to get rid of the dog. The dog bit down over Gamabuntas thick neck, but as long as its' fangs were, they could cause severe damage to Gamabuntas only sore spot.

Jiraya crated a rasengan in his left palm and leapt from Gamabuntas head over to where the leader stood unruffled by the demons sudden movements. Jiraya tried slamming the rasengan into her chest, but the dog demons tail swept him away. Jiraya fell to the ground, he bit his thumb and summoned one of the smaller frogs, Gamakichi. The frog stared up at him with lare eyes as the frog saw his father fight the demon dog.

"Waaaah, the nameless one, Jiraya-sama, what can I do?" He squeaked and took a few steps back. Jiraya spoke only two words, it was enough, Gamakichi understood. The small frog disappeared in a poof of smoke, and Jiraya jumped up on Gamabuntas head again.

"Hold in there, old friend, back up will be here soon." Jiraya said to Gamabunta and the giant toad nodded, knowing very well who was coming.

Gamabunta decided to get serious and drew his other sword as well, breaking free from the dogs' jaws, and slashing out in the same motion, giving the dog a deep gash just over his rib cage.

The woman standing on top of the nameless demon made several hand seals and drew in a deep breath, before sprouting out a column of fire, directed at Gamabunta.

Gamabunta got hit straight on and used a few seconds to heal from the attack, and that was all the time the dog demon needed as his claws seemed to extend and gather into a short sword. He thrust the sword straight trough Gamabuntas throat.

Jiraya couldn't believe what had just happened, and saw Gamabunta give away underneath him. The toad withered away and finally disappeared completely.

Pure shock was written across the legendary sannins' face, as he stared at his blood covered hands, Gamabuntas blood.

Pain suddenly spread around in his body, in every nerve, he felt this burning pain. He looked down himself and saw a kunai sticking out of his chest, no, not out, sticking into his chest. He drew a sharp pained breath and grabbed the kunai with one hand, dragging it out of his collapsing lounge. Blood gashed out of the deep red wound. He stared down at his own chest with interest; it looked just like any other living creatures flesh. It could have been anyone else's chest bleeding. And if Jiraya hadn't felt that overwhelming pain, he would have believed it belonged to someone else.

"Jiraya, this was slightly disappointing. I was hoping to get a more challenging fight from you. Oh well, I guess I can tell you my name now. My name…"

OOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOO

Feel free to come with ideas or watever, I appreaciate it

So long:D and thanks for reading…:


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, so this story, I must admit, is moving it's way away from the opening thoughts I had about it. It's moving towards something far greater and more comprehensive than just one single love affair. If you guys don't like that, let me know, and I'll make more loving

Disclaimer: Naruto and the characters are in no means mine to own, I'm just lending them XD

**OOOOOOOOooooooooooooooOOOOOO**

Naruto left Ichirakus, his piercing red eyes were replaced by his clear blue ones, and he was somewhat anxious about what Kyuubi had told Kakashi, if he had taken the demon seriously, Naruto would be in deep shit.

He strolled down the road, it was raining, and his hair clung to his face, and as he did not wear his headband he didn't really look like himself at all. He glanced into one of the windows and saw his own mirage. His hair was much longer than what it used to be, and long bangs hung down in front of each ear, and bangs clung to his forehead. He reminded himself of someone, but he wasn't really sure who. So he thought no more of it and continued on his way, probably on his way home, he couldn't remember.

Suddenly a poof was heard and Gamakichi stood in front of his feet, shivering slightly.

"Get Naruto, Jiraya told me. Follow me Naruto-sama, it's an emergency." The small frog said and Naruto nodded, knowing that the only time Jiraya would summon Naruto was when he needed something stronger than Gamabunta in his favour. Naruto was that something.

Gamakichi jumped so fast trough the forest that Naruto had a hard time keeping up with him, but he had no choice, if he even took his eyes of the frog for a split second, he would disappear.

Naruto knew long before he saw it, what had happened and his mind had gone completely blank. As he saw the shinobis standing around the dying Jiraya, Narutos sensei, the one who believed in him no matter what.

Naruto couldn't believe it, he didn't want to believe that something so crude could happen to his ever strong sensei, but now it had, and Naruto wasn't sure of what to believe.

He stepped slowly out from the shadows the trees created, his head lowered so that his face fell clothed in shadows.

The woman who seemed like the potential leader of the group turned and stared straight at Naruto, her eyes twitching a little.

"Who are you?" She yelled at him, demandingly. Naruto snickered and lifted his head high, making her gasp in horror.

"No…" She murmured, her hands were shaking.

"You are dead!!!" She screamed and pointed a trembling finger at him, the only visible part of her, the eyes, shone with fear and disbelief.

"I saw you die!" She cried out, her voice giving away.

She made a few signs and disappeared in a poof of smoke, before Naruto had been able to utter a single word. The others in the group exchanged looks and did the same as their leader had done before them.

Naruto staggered over to his sensei and fell to his knees and placed his hands over the bleeding wound, trying to stop the flood of red liquid.

"Ero-sennin…" Naruto murmured grudgingly, beating himself for not running faster. Though he knew deep inside that his feet could not have carried him any faster, even if Kyuubi suddenly had decided to help out.

"Naruto, bring me to Tsunade." Jiraya whispered weakly and coughed, letting blood trickle down the corners of his mouth. Naruto gave him a sceptical look, but nodded and lifted his teacher up. Straightening up and channelling chakra into his hands, making him stronger, so that carrying the larger man would not be a problem over a longer distance.

Naruto speed off trough the forest as fast as he could, first with his strength alone, but after a while he had to channel chakra into his feet as well, to maintain his speed.

After a short time he could see the gates of Konoha and rushed into the village without explaining anything to the watch guards, but they let him pass, as everyone knew who both Naruto and Jiraya were.

**OOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Kakashi was sitting in Sakuras room, it was his turn to keep watch on her, something he did gladly for his student.

He was thinking about what Kyuubi-Naruto had said earlier, and found disturbing fragments of truth in the statement the yellow-haired one had said. Kakashi would not admit that Sakura wasn't important though, but he had to admit that sometimes it seemed like everyone treated Naruto like he was a lesser human than every of the other shinobis.

Kakashi couldn't believe that such a treatment had been carried out right before his own eyes, but that wasn't the case though, Kakashi had taken a part in the action towards Naruto as well. Even though the villagers didn't beat him anymore, and Naruto had gained himself respect as one of the strongest shinobi alive in Konoha at the moment, much due to the demon inside him, they still treated him differently.

Kakashi couldn't imagine how it must've hurt, being the only one all alone, even though he had many friends, and even a fiancée. Naruto truly had only one who understood him completely, which was the famous Kyuubi. The demon who had inflicted all this pain upon Naruto, was the only one who could relate to Naruto, the only one who understood who Naruto truly was.

Kakashi snapped out of his tirade of thoughts and gazed lazily at the unconscious kunoichi, and he had to chuckle, finding humour in the situation.

"If you had been twelve years old again, Sakura-Chan, you would have been up already, knowing that your precious Sasuke's secretly in love with you." He muttered and grinned, but his smile withered away with the fact that she had not woken up, she was still in coma, refusing to wake up.

"Sakura, if you would only wake up, you would see the wonderful world you live in, if you just gave it a chance, give Sasuke a chance, I know the two of you can be happy." He said seriously and looked away.

It felt like his insides were turning by the thought of Sasuke and sakura together, it made him sick even.

Why did he feel like this?

Throwing a glance at her face his stomach turned again, as he imagined her face lit up into a wide grin when Sasuke confessed his love. He didn't need that to happen really.

"What are you thinking about all of a sudden old geezer? This is wrong, she is your student damn it." He cursed himself for letting the pink haired girl get to him with her naivety and vulnerability. He rose up so fast that the chair he was sitting on a second earlier fell to the floor with a bang.

Pacing around the room, he tried desperately to get those disturbing thoughts out of his head. It wasn't like he dreamt of her at night, or imagined that she was his, but the slight thought of that he did not at all want Sasuke and Sakura together, and that he silently wished that she would come to him again, telling him that she needed his help.

The mere thought of her trust in him made him shiver and he had to restrain himself from grabbing her hand and squeeze it, telling her that she had to wake up…for him.

Storming out of the hospital room with a disgusted look on his face, he was disgusted with himself, how could he even think something like that about a girl half of his own age? And even worse, his own student.

He grabbed the nearest nurse, telling her to watch over Sakura until the next watch came and he was out of the hospital before the said nurse got to react.

"Kakashi!!!" That annoying yet assuring voice, which overflowed with energy and self confidence, that voice he had heard, soaked in hatred and anger earlier the same day, that voice that now sounded desperate and sad.

Kakashi turned towards the voice and his eyes widened in shock. Naruto, strong as ever with red chakra surrounding him, red eyes glaring ahead, carried his larger sensei. Blood showed in their footsteps, and the legendary sannin seemed unconscious.

"Kakashi!!!" Naruto yelled again and snapped Kakashi out of his daze; the copy-cat ran over to Naruto and helped him with the weight of Jiraya.

"Tsunade…he…wants Tsunade." Naruto panted and threw Kakashi a sideways glance, seeing if the silver haired one understood, which Kakashi did, and he gave a nod in return.

They carried the man into the hospital, where he was rushed over on a stretcher and carried off to the closest operating room, where both Naruto and Kakashi were shut out.

Narutos eyes had gone back to their clear blue colour and he stared ahead for a few minutes without saying anything. Kakashi just stood beside him, waiting for the younger one to explain what had happened, but the explanation never came.

Tsunade with Shizune hot in her trail rushed passed the two bloody jounins and gave a slight nod and a look filled with sympathy and sadness, but still that fierceness which was the old woman's trade-mark.

Naruto swayed, Kakashi thought it strange, and just a second later Naruto tipped backwards and would have hit the hard stone floor if Kakashis senses hadn't been so sharp.

A nurse came by and she saw the problem, without saying a word, she led Kakashi to a hospital room with one bed and placed Naruto there.

Afterwards the nurse left after checking Naruto for severe injuries, but as she found nothing, she just left. Kakashi glared at the door she had just disappeared out of.

"It's always like this, isn't it, Naruto?" Kakashi murmured and turned to look at the human demon vessel.

One blue eye opened, the pupil was that of the Kyuubi and a grim smile appeared on Narutos face.

"I killed him…" He muttered lowly.

Kakashi felt his eyes widen.

"No..." He whispered and drew closer to the dead serious Naruto; his heart sank when he saw that one open eye turn to look at him, with a cold calculating look.

"I did." He assured and another grim smile appeared.

"Why? Why would you kill Jiraya?" Kakashi asked, anger taking over his voice now.

"He summoned me, me, his strongest weapon. I could have run faster, I could have reacted earlier…I could have…there's so much I could have done differently." Naruto growled and lifted a clawed hand; he stared at it in fascination.

"I'm becoming more like a monster every day, one second a man the next I'm half demon." Naruto explained and clenched his fist so hard it turned white.

"I would be lying if I said I hated Kyuubi, cause I don't, he's the only one who understands me. I need that, and as both my mom and dad are dead, I'm glad I have Kyuubi as my second father. Even though it is mostly to save him, he looks out for me, gives me strength when I'm too weak, but this time…I may loose that one person who lived with me for two years alone in the forest, he grew to become a grandfather to me. Oh, yes, he knows, and he knew that I was the only person who would rush to his rescue without speaking with the Hokage first." Naruto paused and drew in a sharp breath, "still, it wasn't enough."

**OOOOOOOooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOO**

"Jiraya you old fool." Tsunade murmured and examined the wound in his chest.

"His left lounge is punctured." She informed Shizune; the younger woman nodded and stood on each side of the operation table. A large sign was scribbled on the table and some signs were glowing around the two powerful medic ninjas.

"Sakura should have been here, she know this method almost better than I do." Tsunade muttered and channelled chakra to her hands, Shizune did the same.

"This will be one long night" Tsunade murmured and glanced at Jirayas motionless face.

"Old fool."

**OOOOOOOooooooooooooooooOOOOOOO**

Hinata wandered around in her family mansion, wearing her jounin outfit, she had just come home from a short mission and had just been taking a shower. Now she was moving to the aisle where Naruto had his room, as after they had engaged he had moved in, in the room beside Neji.

When she came there, she saw that his door was open and the lights were off, she peeked inside, and quite right, he wasn't there. She turned to run and see if he was in her room, which he most of the time was, because he claimed that it had better air condition.

"Hinata?" It was Neji, he stared at her behind his ANBU mask and knew right away what was wrong.

"Naruto seems to be in the hospital, apparently someone was hurt, you should go there." He said, his voice stripped of emotions, Hinata nodded and ran out of the mansion.

'please let Naruto be okay' she prayed in her mind where she fled down the paved streets.

**OOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOO**

Naruto knew right away that she had been worried, by her heavy panting and the sound of her racing heart, combined with those wide scared pupil less eyes and trembling lips. He smiled sadly towards her.

Hinata returned lovingly the smile, but saw the terrible sadness in his eyes. Those gorgeous blue eyes that reflected everything he felt.

"Naruto, what has happened?" She asked, without stuttering, as she was absolutely sure about Naruto now, after all these years.

He lowered his gaze down to his hands and she could clearly see his inner struggle. She wanted to hug him, to hug all his worries away, but at this moment, it was not right, she would not do him justice by making him weaker.

"Jiraya, I tried to save him…but, I was too late, I tried, I really did…Hinata." He was begging for her to understand, and she did, she always did. She could not hold back her feelings anymore, and threw herself into his arms, hugging him with all her love. Silently she crept into the hospital bed beside him and snuggled into his tired body.

"I understand, you did all you could, one can not expect more of you Naruto, you as all of us are human, no matter what you yourself believe." She whispered and heard his sharp inhalation. He knew she was right though, so he calmed down and relaxed his muscles, letting himself feel the love she gave to him, and he knew somehow that it could hardly get any better than this.

**OOooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOooo**

Tsunade dried the sweat of her forehead, and let the fingers trace down her cheek wiping away the salty tears as well. She looked older, more tired and less proud than Shizune had ever seen her and it was scary.

In front of them laid the villages largest hentai, closer to death than he ever had been before.

"He will make it now on his own, won't he, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked unsurely and met her senseis deep honey brown eyes with her own black orbs.

"Yeah, he'll do fine, thanks to Naruto." She murmured and straightened up. Jiraya had been moved into a comfortable hospital bed with constant surveillance of a medic ninja, and Tsunade had done everything in her power to bring him back from the dead with everything she knew as far as her knowledge goes.

And this time, she had succeeded.

Tiredly she staggered her way towards the room where Naruto lay. Entering silently she stopped to drink in the view of Naruto own happiness. She was glad that he had found himself such a wonderful woman. They seemed just like the most perfect couple, she smiled and exited the room.

"Guess I'll give him the news later."

**OOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooOOOOOOO**

Kakashi stood and stared at the memorial stone, he'd been standing there for hours, his thoughts swirling like a whirlwind inside his head, and he could not make out his own newfound feelings, also the fact about Jiraya on top of it all made it nothing better.

"Sensei, what would you do?" He muttered under his breath and stared at the name written on the stone, Yondaime Hokage.

He got no answer.

"Thought so." Kakashi felt a new presence and turned around, standing face to face with Sasuke.

"Sasuke?"

"Kakashi" Sasuke started, but cut off and just stared at his sensei.

"I saw you, I heard you…You have feelings for Sakura haven't you?" He blurted out, staring at Kakashi with eyes full of anger.

Kakashi kept silent, he wasn't sure himself yet, so why should he tell his student if he had feelings or not for Sakura?

"Other things than trivial things like feelings are more important right now, Sasuke." Kakashi said calmly and turned away.

"So it's true then?" He gasped.

"I never said it was true, I simply stated that there are more important things going on." Kakashi stared at Sasuke over his shoulder.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Sasuke almost yelled now, Kakashi bent his head and stared athis hands.

"Jirayas life, Narutos mental stability, and the safety of Konoha, only to name a few." Kakashi muttered. Sasuke seemed to think for a few seconds before he drew in a long breath.

"Jirayas life? What do you mean?" He asked, not what Kakashi had expected.

"Naruto brought him back from the outskirts of Konoha, someone seemingly strong had ambushed him. There's a high possibility he'll die." Kakashi kneeled by the stone and touched one name, he stroked one thumb over it, revealing it of all dust.

"Uchiha Obito." He murmured before rising up and bowing, turning towards Sasuke.

"This is not the place to stay at a time like this." He said and led the younger jounin away from the stone, and they headed back to the Hokage tower.

**OOOOOOOoooooooooooOOOOOOOOOo**

Meanwhile at the hospital two emerald eyes blinked open and got blinded by the strong light from one of the lamps.

A shadow blocked the light, bending over her and stared down at her with honey brown eyes and a warm smile.

"Good morning, Sakura."

**OOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOO**

There goes r&r it's only polite


	5. Chapter 5

**thanks for your reviews, they truly make me smile, but here's a new twist for you all. After this extremely short chapter a new dramatic world will appear. You will find out who those who attacked Jiraya were, you will see what goes on with Naruto, will there finally be anything more than teacher/student with Sakura and Kakashi? And what about Sasuke? **

**Keep reading and reviewing, it makes me keep going with this, thank you all once again you know who you are :D**

_**Chapter 5**_

"Tsunade-shishou?" Sakura jolted upright in the bed, but fell heavily down again, groaning from the dizziness.

"Fool, you should know that you must wait until you've recovered fully to do rash actions like that." Tsunade said irritated and turned around from her student, a broad smile spread across her face, showing nothing but relief and joy.

"What happened, Shishou?" Sakura asked and made Tsunade turn to look at her with sympathetic eyes.

"What do you remember?" She asked and raised a questionable brow at the pink haired one.

"That I came rushing here to tell you that…" Sakura stopped and her eyes widened, and her hand clasped in front of her trembling lips. Silvery tears trilled down her colourless cheeks.

Silence fell upon teacher and student, and only the knowledge of what happened lingered in the air between them.

She knew, she knew why she felt this terrible, why her body felt like dying. Her "boyfriend" had almost killed her. Choking on her tears she gave her sensei a pleading look. Tsunade nodded understandingly and left the room.

After Tsunade left, Sakura broke down completely, her whole body shook from the terrible memory. It was by far the cruellest thing he had ever done to her, just one hard slam against the wall, just as simple as that. He had never really been so clean in his actions, it always seemed like he had to make it so that it gave him pleasure by doing so to her, but not this time, this time it had been different. It was like he had really been jealous. Curling her knees up to rest her chin on, she started breathing more calmly and found that the tears dried surprisingly fast. As she noticed that she was not at all sad that she lost him, she was extremely happy and felt stronger than she had for years.

"Maybe I can really move on now?" She murmured and stared at her own hands, they seemed thin and worn, and not the strong hands she used to have.

After all this time with him beating her and crying herself to sleep at night, not much of an appetite, and not having much motivation for training had made her look thin and fragile.

Climbing slowly out of the bed she found it hard to stand straight, but after a while she got it right. She felt her chakra flowing in her system and channelled it into her hand, staring hypnotised at the chakra surrounding her hand a wicked smile crept upon her lips. Without any warning she slammed the fist against the hospital wall facing the street.

A large hole appeared and dust fell from the roof. Sakura grinned

"I'm still strong." She murmured and clenched her fist.

"I could've beaten him easily." Her eyes held a new fire, a fire of hate and disgust. "DAMNIT!!!!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kakashi stared down at his bloody hands. The blood was still warm and felt like it belonged on those hands, stained by death, Kakashi thought and smiled sadly. Blood seemed to flood all around him as well, so many had been killed that night. But this blood belonged to someone special, someone close to his heart. The girl he was supposed to protect, the one he had promised to protect. He had failed her, and he had failed himself.

Rain was soaking him and washing away the crimson blood off his body. He needed some time to himself, which was what he had told the others, it was partly true. Though he also needed time to bury this girl, this human being, he had to bury her, the place she always wanted to sleep for the eternity. She had told him just before her heart stopped beating, when he had hammered on her chest, pleading her to not give up. Very out of character, yes, but no one is themselves when they loose someone they care about.

Under the sakura trees, she had always admired their beauty; she told him once that she wanted to be just as pretty as those flowers. And she did, she grew to be the prettiest woman he had ever seen, only one woman could rival her beauty, but he didn't want to think about her now.

As he started to dig the grave for this beautiful flower, his mind wandered away from him, and went back to that day, the day it had all started.

OOOOOOOOooooooooooOOOOOOOOO

**I know it's short, and yes it's tragic, but it's all worth it in the end… not telling anymore than that, bear with me. **

**Confusing, it'll all clear up very soon XD**


	6. Chapter 6

**Woah, things are heating up, I tell you XD nihihih. **

**Read on fellas. **

**Chapter 6**

Naruto woke up with Hinata in his arms, clinging desperately to his body, not wanting to let go. Always after he had been upset and tired of the, at this day few villagers, who harassed him, Hinata would support him and make him feel better, it always seemed strange to Naruto. How she did it, how she could turn the worst situation into something memorable and beautiful, how she did that was a mystery. But Hinata always had something new to reveal to him, everyday something new and interesting. Naruto would never get tired of the beautiful heiress.

He slipped gently out of her grip and put on his jounin outfit, covered his fiancé up with a blanket and kissed her gently on the forehead, whispering silently his undying love into her ear. A shiver went trough her body from his gentle touch, but she didn't wake up.

He left the room and walked straight towards the reception where he asked for Jirayas condition and if they had been able to save him.

The nurse gave him a blank stare, and replaced the stare with a look of utter sympathy.

"Tsunade is waiting for you at the Hokage tower, she have something important to tell you." The nurse said, recognizing the jounin to be Naruto as he spent a lot of time at the hospital. And he was quite the looker as well, he was the talking point in the nurses lunch break, the younger nurses swooned for Naruto, and the older nurses who still remembered the young loud and irritating Naruto, also thought he was good looking, but they did not swoon over him like fangirls.

Naruto put up a hard look and turned to leave, waving thanks over his shoulder, making the nurse blush furiously.

OOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooOOOOO

"Naruto, I can't let you into the Hokages office now, she's in an important meeting right now. Come back in half an hour." The ANBU said which Naruto recognised as Shikamaru.

"A-a, important meeting my ass." Naruto shoot back which made Shikamaru stagger back a few steps. Naruto grinned and pushed the ANBU aside and entered her office. And quite right, there she sat staring out her window with a cup of sake in hand.

"Tsunade-baa-chan, where's Ero-sennin?" Naruto almost shouted, so that Tsunade lost her grip of the sake cup and it landed in her lap, staining her pants.

"Waaaah, DAMN YOU NARUTO!" She shouted and hit him in the head, Naruto grinned.

"So he's alive after all then, I'm glad." Naruto said and smiled sadly, Tsunades facial expression changed from angry to surprised to pleased in record time.

"I got somewhat worried when Shikamaru told me you were in a meeting though, Baa-chan, you're never in a meeting." Naruto knew her too well; Tsunade thought and sat down in her chair again. Maybe he was ready after all?

Naruto noticed that expression on Tsunades face, she was considering an important settlement, something involving Naruto himself. That much he could tell by just her facial expression, if he bothered to extend his senses he would have found out much more, but he decided not to, it would be invading Tsunades personal space.

"Where's Jiraya-sensei, Hokage-sama." Naruto asked formally and Tsunade froze. He had never addressed her as the Hokage before, did he know?

"I want to apologise to him." Naruto whispered under his breath and Tsunade sighed. He was blaming himself again, thinking everything bad happening was his fault. It was the prize Naruto paid for housing the Kyuubi.

"Hadn't it been for you Naruto, the old geezer would have been dead now, his condition is bad, but he'll survive." She paused and walked over to Naruto, extending her arm and letting it rest on his shoulder, she had to look up to meet his eyes. "That's all that matters." She whispered. "Thank you for brining him back to me."

Naruto nodded and smiled, knowing fully well how much a team-mate meant, and how much Jiraya meant to Tsunade, the relationship they had was priceless, friendship. Tsunade and Jiraya would die for each other, and so would Naruto for his team-mates.

"He's next door, but make it short, he's still weak." Tsunade pointed at a door leading out of her office, Naruto knew that room, he'd been there a few times as well. It was the room Tsunade treated life threatening injuries; she had several other rooms like it in the tower as well.

Jiraya opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling when Naruto entered, sighing heavily.

"Thank you Naruto and you too, Kyuubi." Jiraya said and turned his head to look at his student. Narutos right eye turned red while the other one stayed blue and Naruto nodded.

"**no matter." **Kyuubis voice filled the room.

"I would never leave you to die sensei, you knew that." Naruto said and sat down on a chair beside the frog lords bed and smiled at the injured one.

"So how does it feel?" Naruto asked.

Jiraya grunted and grinned.

"Felt better, but it's not that bad anymore, Tsunade works wonders, but you knew that." Jiraya said wheezing.

"**You really shouldn't strain yourself; Naruto'll get upset if you die.**" The voice of Kyuubi came from Narutos mouth again, and Jiraya grinned. He'd never get used to that double sided Naruto.

"Yeah, I'll leave you so you can rest now. See ya." Naruto called and was out the door before Jiraya could even react.

Outside the doors which lead out into the hallway and not into Tsunades office, Naruto collapsed to the floor, biting back the tears.

**'You're too weak, kit.' **Kyuubis voice bit inside his head and Naruto nodded.

'I know.'

OOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOO

Shizune walked into Tsunades office with a tray of tea and rice balls. Tsunade looked up from her reports and nodded. Shizune placed the tray on her desk and stood beside Tsunade.

"Did you tell him?" She asked in a hushed tone, as Naruto still were in Jirayas room.

"No."

"But, you said you would do it today, have you changed your mind?" The younger woman asked. Tsunade shook her head and smiled.

"Naruto's going trough a harsh time right now, the Kyuubi have become a part of him, his team-mate ended up in a coma, even though she as awoken, and now this with Jiraya. A new danger is alluring in the forest, and he puts all the blame on himself. I want to wait until all of this is over." Tsunade murmured and sipped her tea thoughtfully. Shizune nodded, knowing fully well how Naruto was and understood Tsunades intentions by waiting.

"If anything should not go after the plan…" "I know shishou."

OOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooOOOOOOOOOOO

Kakashi walked alongside his student, his mind was like a maelstrom where his thoughts kept spinning around. He couldn't grab a hold of anything at the moment. His thoughts about Sakura, God forbid, scared him, they scared the hell out of him. And now all he could think of was the pink haired student of his, what if she never woke up? He glanced at Sasuke, and could tell that the younger jounin thought about the same thing. It was written with bold letters across his face. Suddenly Sasukes face lit up.

"Sakura." He murmured and stared ahead. Kakashi sighed, but threw a glance the way Sasuke stared anyway, and his eyeballs almost popped out of his head.

"Sakura?" Kakashi said surprised and was about to shout to get her attention, when he noticed that she tried to keep out of sight. Her short pink hair had been tied up into a spiky pony tail, and a black mask covered half of her face. Her emerald eyes scanned the area, and her gaze landed on the two jounin.

Kakashi could see the changing of expression on her face, from surprise to shock to anger. His heart skipped a beat when he saw her turn and run away, disappearing into the shadows of the dark alley. Heading for the Konoha gate. He didn't have to tell Sasuke to follow after her, as he was already a distance down the alley. Kakashi turned on his heel and ran to the Hokage tower as fast as he could.

"Hokage-sama, your apprentice, I think she's followed after Rayuu." Kakashi whispered into the blonde woman's ear, as she sat in the middle of a conversation with the head of the Hyuuga. It was probably about the marriage between Hinata and Naruto.

Tsunades face kept calm, but in her stony eyes Kakashi could see the flicker of worry.

"Mr Hyuuga, I believe you should go now, we will discuss this further by another occasion." Tsunade said and ushered the man out the door, before she spun around and glared at Kakashi.

"Gather a team of six, you may pick and choose, almost everyone is close by, we've had little missions this week. The forest is dangerous right now, as we do not know what kind of group they are, those who attacked Jiraya." She nodded, agreeing with herself and picked up a parchment. "Here, the information we have on them, if you should meet with them, take with you Naruto or Sasuke, they have strong summons, and Naruto have Kyuubi if things should go that far."

Kakashi nodded and was about to jump out the same way he had entered, trough the window, but Tsunades words stopped him.

"And Kakashi…bring her back still breathing."

Kakashi ran trough Konoha and gathered information on where the shinobis he had picked out in his mind were. The first one he found was Shikamaru, which had guard duty at the prison. He nodded firmly when he got the message and took off his ANBU mask, but didn't bother throwing away time on changing clothes.

They also found Neji at the ANBU headquarter, he either didn't bother to change, but he tucked the mask away.

Afterwards they went to the academy and found Iruka in one of the classrooms shouting at the new group of shinobis.

"Iruka, you know some healing jutsus don't you?" Kakashi asked the surprised teacher, but he nodded slowly and measured the group of tree with a calculating look.

"I have no one to substitute me." Iruka said as he realised what it was all about a mission.

"I'll substitute you. HEY BRATS, SHUT UP!!!" Anko came parading into the classroom with a fiery look in her eyes. Iruka stared shocked at the smaller woman, but nodded and followed the others out of the academy.

"We have the brain, the eyes, the medic, the leader, now we're only missing the close range combat specialist and the demon." Kakashi muttered under his breath.

"Demon?" Iruka asked dumbfounded, but his look of confusion soon slid over to be a look of knowledge.

"Ah, Naruto." Shikamaru nodded knowingly and smiled, "and Lee." He added.

They found Lee at the training field, not very surprising; the young man had surpassed Gai in strength and speed now, and was looked at as a genius in Taijutsu among the villagers.

Now all they needed was to find the demon container, though Kakashi wasn't completely sure if that was all Naruto was anymore, or if he had moved to a stage where he was actually halfway demon.

Naruto was the opposite of all the shinobis with Kakashi, he could be anywhere, he had no special place except for Ichirakus, and he hadn't been there. He never stayed at his apartment, and didn't quite like it at the academy or the tower either. The only place Kakashi had seen the demon vessel more than once the last year, was on the head of the fourth Hokages head in the Hokage monument.

"Neji, can you see if someone's on top of the monument?" Kakashi asked the white eyed one, and Neji nodded. Seconds passed as Neji scanned the area.

"No, no one." Came the short reply. Kakashi sighed inwardly, but bit his thumb so that crimson blood dripped out of the small cut.

"Kuchiyose No Jutsu." he murmured and Pakkun appeared in all his glory.

"Yo Kakashi." He said lazily and stared up at Kakashi with tired eyes.

"Could you see if you find Naruto?" Kakashi asked, Pakkun stared dumbly at Kakashi a second.

"Above you." He murmured before disappearing in a poof.

"Hey guys." Naruto said from the top of one of the poles supporting the wall around Konoha. He jumped down and landed silently among the shinobis.

"Sasuke told me to wait here; he's left a chakra trail for you to follow. Sakura, she seems like she wants revenge." Naruto said and stared at Kakashi, who knew right away what Naruto meant about that matter.

"Why not let her, it's not like she's leaving town." He whispered so lowly that only Kakashi could hear the words spoken. Kakashi could see that Narutos pupil was slit, but his eyes were still blue.

"We would if that group that almost killed Jiraya wasn't out there." Kakashi replied and avoided meeting Narutos intense stare.

"Let's go, we'll orientate you all about the plan on our way, Shikamaru?"

"Yeah, here goes…"

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Sakura jumped from branch to branch as fast as she could manage, and didn't stop to take a break, she needed to find that guy and make him pay for what he did to her. No matter what.

It was hard moving very fast though, as she had almost just awoken from coma, but she pushed herself to the limits and when she got worn out, she healed herself and continued on.

Suddenly she saw a movement to her left and made a manoeuvre that seemed natural, but that also would hide her from any harm.

She hid behind a large tree with a thick trunk, her senses were wired and her muscles were screaming. But she kept quiet, until she was sure there was nothing there anymore.

She jumped down to the ground and sighed tiredly.

"Aaw, what a cute little girl, she looks tired." A woman's voice suddenly commented and Sakura spun around. It was Temari, from the hidden sand, but why had she this cruel and sadistic look on her face? The sand was Konohas allies.

"Yes, she's very exhausted; we should take her to sensei and let her look at this one." Another woman said, this woman Sakura wasn't familiar with, but she looked strong with long metal claws pointing out of her fingers and her yellow piercing eyes. Now that Sakura looked closer, so were Temaris eyes yellow, it was strange, Sakura was sure she remembered correctly when she thought Temari had more navy eyes.

"Temari-san, you know me, I'm Sakura, from Konoha." Sakura said, but took a few steps back when they approached. Temari laughed humourlessly grabbed her fan and hit Sakura with a wave of wind, before Sakura could even react. She hit a trunk and fell to the ground unconscious.

Temari came and stood over the pink haired girl a smirk painted on her face.

"A kunoichi from Konoha, eh? Should be good, right?" Temari said and picked her up from the ground and tossed her over her shoulder. The other woman lifted her hands and retracted her claws and grinned.

"Yeah, Rin-sensei will definitely enjoy someone from her home village."

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Rin? O.O

R&R it's only polite, but I'm not forcing ya. See ya around XD


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry about the long wait peeps. But here it is. It's kind of much about Naruto here, but it's important that you understand how he has become, because else his way of acting would seem so stupid.

Uh, okay, get on with it

Chapter 7

Sakura opened her eyes hesitantly, as the smell of blood reached her nose thrills. She blinked the dark dots from her eyes, and stared into a pair of yellow eyes. Screaming soundlessly and trying to get away, she noticed that her hands and feet were strapped to a metal table, much like an operating table. Trying to remain calm she avoided the set of yellow eyes and let her gaze wander down her own body, in search of any open wounds. She found herself intact and sighed relieved, until someone forced her to look at them.

"Finally noticing I'm here, eh?" The strong voice of a woman reached her ears and Sakura stared into the woman's predatory yellow eyes.

"Rin-sensei wants to see you now." The woman said, as Sakura didn't answer.

"Loosen the chains, and bring her to Rin-sensei. Temari, you're wanted in the chemical area, now!"

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Sasuke felt his worry rise in the pit of his stomach when the hours dragged on and Sakuras trail got weaker and weaker. After another half an hour running like a madman trough the forest, the trail stopped and he had no chance of continuing without her trail.

"DAMNIT!" He shouted aggravated and punched a tree with all his might.

"What did that tree ever do to you?" Asked a mans voice, Sasuke spun around. When getting so worked up, he forgot to keep his senses on top. A man in ANBU outfit stood there, supporting his weight by leaning on a tree. Sasuke sneered.

"What do you care? Aren't you supposed to be anonymous, where's your mask?" The ANBU got a wicked smile and his eyes shone with madness.

"Ah, indeed young Uchiha, yes I know who you are, who doesn't? You're the one MY Sakura was so head over heels in love with before she got together with me." He paused and watched as the information took form in Sasukes head, and had great fun watching the younger shinobis facial expressions change, from surprise, to shock to outright anger.

"The case is, I'm not an ANBU anymore, not one of Konoha at least. You can call me a missing-nin if you like." He said and snickered as Sasukes eyes changed from almost black to the blazing red sharingans.

"Those eyes are impressive Uchiha, but do they work on clones?" The ex-ANBU asked and his dark eyes scanned Sasukes face for answer.

"That's right, I'm totally aware how strong you and your friend, the demon are, but Sakura…I had some great fun using her. And she went along with it, until that Kakashi came along." He paused again as he heard the sharp inhalation from Sasuke, and a wicked grin spread across his lips.

"Ah, you like her, don't you? But oh yes, Kakashi destroyed it all, he made her, magically stronger. I thought I had broken her down completely by then, but oh well, everyone can make mistakes. Right Uchiha? Like when you left her for the case of your own hunger after power?" Sasuke growled and lounged after the ANBU with a ball of fire. The body dispersed into smoke.

"If you can hear me, Sakura is after you right now, and she did not look happy. You should watch out Rayuu, even I can't mach her in physical power. She is the apprentice of the fifth Hokage after all." Sasukes eyes glanced around, but he found himself to be alone, sighing he sat down to wait for the retrieval team that would most possibly come.

And he did not have to wait for very long.

Kakashi, Neji, Shikamaru, Iruka, Lee and Naruto stood suddenly in a half circle around Sasuke. He told them what the issue was and what had just happened. Shikamaru had to rearrange the plan, and they soon understood that Sakura could already be taken by the group.

"But we should continue looking right?" Lee asked. Kakashi turned to the group after standing with his back to them for a few minutes, listening to everything Shikamaru had said.

"I am sorry; we will have to call this one off. No worries, we'll find her, she is strong so she'll survive. From what I learnt from the Hokage, this group seems to consist of women only. If they have taken her, they will probably be more interested in recruiting her rather than killing her." Kakashi murmured and closed his visible eye as Sasuke opened his mouth to protest.

"I understand." Naruto cut of the Uchiha before he could say anything. Narutos eyes were blazingly red, but his pupils were round still. The anger and the blood thirst of the demon inside could be seen in that red colour.

"But I don't have to like it." The voice got deeper and it was clearly the demon speaking. Kakashi sucked in a deep breath as he met Narutos eyes, what was happening to his former student? Kakashi let his gaze wander to the other shinobis, and found Iruka completely calm, while the others stared wide eyed at Narutos appearance.

"Let's go back then." Kakashi said and jumped up in the trees again, not waiting to see if the others followed or not. The whole thing about Sakuras disappearance got to him more than he'd like to admit, and more than he should. He hated that she had gotten under his skin so easily, without even trying.

Iruka came up beside him, and Kakashi sent him a knowing look.

"You knew, didn't you?" Kakashi asked the fellow shinobi. Iruka nodded.

"About Naruto? Yes I did. It became visible to me a few months ago, he has told me about it, and he has no problems with it at all. He is just accepting his fate." Iruka said and stared ahead. Kakashi sighed inwardly as he remembered his and Narutos conversation only a few days ago. The Kyuubi hadn't really been all that bad.

"We should report it to the Hokage." Kakashi said. Iruka laughed.

"She knows, and Jiraya knows. You partly know, but I guess you should hear the whole thing to understand it completely though, it's not as simple as a mix-up, as his former sensei you should speak with him." Kakashi met the eyes of his comrade and understood the importance of it all, if he did not understand Naruto, it would be difficulties under missions were Kakashi was leader or a team-mate for that matter, and it was a matter of knowing his…friend. Yes, Naruto had grown to be a friend to Kakashi, Sasuke not so much, but also he had some special place in his heart. Sakura he didn't even want to think about, because no matter how hard he tried to push her out of his head, she always came back. But the case was that, the three of them were his first students, and he was proud of them, they were no longer young genins who could barely stand up for themselves. They were Konoha shinobi, serving their village, Hokage and people. Kakashi could fight side by side all of them, and he could depend on them taking care of themselves.

Iruka fell back and let Kakashi think in peace, and gave Naruto a nudge. Their eyes met, Narutos eyes were now blue and with normal pupils, just himself.

"Tell him over a cup of ramen." Iruka said, Naruto stared ahead with a hard gaze.

"He knows enough." His voice was his own, but Iruka could tell that the edge of Kyuubi was voiced in there as well. Iruka sighed.

"You didn't want to tell me either, remember?" Naruto seemed to tense by the memory and Iruka smiled.

"Kakashi does probably have some methods up his sleeve for you if you won't cooperate." Iruka grinned, but his smile withered away as he saw the change in Narutos eyes, and automatically braced himself for a venomous comment from the fox, but it never came. Instead Naruto turned looked away, while falling behind.

Naruto suddenly skipped one branch and raced towards the ground. He met the ground on all four and a sneer painted on his face. His red eyes glowed and now they were slit as well.

Iruka came down to the ground as well, and the rest of the team followed suit. Kakashi sighed and gave Naruto a quizzically look.

"I'm changed." Naruto said suddenly with a sharp voice, and Iruka could hear the nuances in his voice. Suddenly Iruka understood what Naruto was about to do, and his eyes widened in shock and horror.

"I guess most of you know by now, that I am the container of Kyuubi no Kitsune. He was my worst enemy, and I hated him for ever existing. Kyuubi have lived inside me for nineteen years now, and he's the one who understands me best out of all my friends. I thought that he was the one who made my life miserable, but he wasn't the one. The ones who truly destroyed my life were the narrow-minded villagers, who don't understand a fucking thing about me." Naruto had to pause and calm himself down, his eyes were dark and fiery now, and it was quite obvious that both he and the demon were angry. Iruka let his gaze wander from face to face, and he saw that all of the shinobis were shocked to the core. To be honest, Iruka had been as well, because Naruto never complained about anything; he had always just smiled and walked on.

**"My my my, the Kit gets carried away sometimes. I must agree with him though. And for you who don't understand, I am Kyuubi, the demon lord. I have always pushed Naruto to his limits; I believed it would be his wish. Your mission to the water-country Sasuke, when Naruto saved you, although you probably won't remember because you were unconscious then, already back then I pushed Naruto. He was only twelve the first time I showed myself for him, I wanted to make him understand the power living inside him, but he never really wanted to learn from me. The idiot thought I wanted to trick him, but as the years have gone by, he has learnt to trust me, and I him." **Narutos voice came out deep and harsh. The team-members' jaws fell, except for Iruka and Kakashi who knew somewhat about everything already.

"What has happened to me and Kyuubi in the past year cannot be explained in any short version, and I know we're in a hurry, but you can not be on the same team as me if you don't understand this and the consequences after the coincidence." Naruto explained.

Naruto bowed his head so that his face fell in shadows, and when he looked up again, his eyes were that dark blue and his pupils were slit.

"Now I have moved into a state where, Kyuubi and I share the same mind, but I am in complete control. It is I, who words my thoughts, but Kyuubi can speak to me inside my head at will and that I cannot control in this state of mind. The reason I can achieve this privilege, is mind control. This last year I have done a lot of meditation where I usually train with Kyuubi. It's some kind of simulator, if you understand, but I guess you don't. After I started to meditate, I noticed some changes when I was not meditating as well. It started slowly, with Kyuubis voice inside my head without me being unconscious, because I have spoken to him several times before when I was unconscious. It was strange, but I slowly got used to it, and then our minds started to mix. Kyuubi has a very hot temper, while I don't. So when something aggravates him now, he can just voice it out loud without me being able to do anything about it." Naruto explained.

**"I would never say anything that would do any harm to Naruto in any way though." **Kyuubi voiced.

"Our situation cannot be explained simply, and I don't have the words to why this is happening now and not sooner, or why it's happening at all. All I know is that this has made me somewhat smarter as I and Kyuubi share minds. That is all you need to know." Naruto finished and gave all of the present shinobis a slight smile.

Shikamaru tried to say something, some words of acknowledgement, but he could not speak, his voice was stuck in his throat.

The minutes dragged on **and no**body said anything to each other.

When Naruto felt that they had thought about the situation long enough. He flashed a wide grin.

"They're here." He said and turned towards where the trees stood closest.

Neji turned on his byakugan and gasped.

"They're so close, why haven't we sensed them until now?" He muttered under his breath. Kakashi laughed.

"Because you all were so enhanced by Narutos speech. It was his purpose all along. He knew, or Kyuubi knew, that they would eventually come here, as their target after the hidden village of sand, was Konoha. The most logic way to get to Konoha, would be this way." Kakashi explained. Iruka nodded.

"If we had continued on, they would have had no problem going into Konoha, as the guard watch today is a new genin team. No one would have noticed they were inside our walls unless they wanted us to know." He said and smiled at Sasuke who still did not understand how he could let himself get distracted like that.

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Rin tapped her finger against her chin with a thoughtful look on her face. She had seen that silver haired man somewhere before, but she could not at all place him among her familiars.

She gave the new kunoichi a look, to see if she recognized any one of them, but she just kept her face closed like all the others did.

"I'm sorry that we didn't have much time to get along, you and I, but we will, when we get your friends from Konoha. You don't regret doing the ritual do you? Not like you had a choice, anyway." Rin whispered in the pink haired ones ear. The new one turned her head to meet Rin with her blazing yellow eyes.

"No I don't regret, Rin-sensei." She said monotonic and flashed a cold emotionless smile. Rin nodded pleased and rose from her spot behind a large bush.

"Let's get these amateurs out of the way and continue on our plan. We must be strong when meeting the Hokage."

The woman with metal claws who had fetched Sakura together with Temari stepped out from her hiding place, her yellow eyes flashed dangerously and Rin grinned.

"Yes, Kyoko from the mist will definitely be the right woman for this job."

Kyoko made herself noticed by the group of shinobis and winked seductively at them. But when Lee took his fighting stance and encouraged her to charge, her smile widened into a wicked grin, and the metal claws sprung out from her fists.

"Your name, bowl cut?" She said with soft voice.

"Lee, and you?" He asked, and Kyoko cooked her head to the side like a predator watching its prey.

"Kyoko, though you'll have no use of it, as you're dead soon." She spun around and disappeared into thin air. Lee stared confused around, but could not see her until she appeared behind him and slashed down the full length of his back.

Before he could deliver a kick to her head, she disappeared again, and he kicked the air.

After this happened again and again, and Lee was bloody and thorn up, she appeared before him with a smug look.

"I told you so." She whispered and brought the claws down towards Lee.

Kakashi could barely catch the movement when Naruto moved out from behind him, the speed seemed familiar, but at the moment he couldn't think straight, not when Lee had been overpowered like that in only seconds.

Blood stained the ground between Lee and Kyoko. Kyokos eyes widened in shock as she stared down her own body, and saw a hand sticking into her heart.

**"I'm holding your destiny, your life, I'm holding your heart."** The deep voice of Naruto reached her ears and she stared into two red eyes with slit pupils. And a silent scream fell from her lips as he yanked his arm out of her chest, holding the still pumping muscle in front of her eyes.

**"And this is where you die." **Kyoko didn't give one sound, she just fell together and her life seeped out of the open wound in her damaged chest. Naruto opened his hand, and the heart fell to the ground and died together with its body.

"Kyuubi always had that sense of drama." He muttered before raising his finger and pointing it into the bushes.

"One can't take us down!" He shouted and jumped back in between the other shinobis as kunoichis with different headbands came walking out of the forest.

"You didn't have to kill her." Kakashi murmured to Naruto, and Naruto only shook his head.

"I didn't, the demon lord carried out his justice." He said simply.

"The black haired one is mine." Neji said lowly, the others nodded.

Lee who had been placed behind the shinobi rescue team to be healed by Iruka snorted angrily as he would have to skip this fight unless it was absolutely necessary.

Kakashi was about to say what to do, stopped dead in his words, when a certain pink haired kunoichi walked out from behind a tree, together with a brown haired kunoichi Kakashi had thought of as dead for many years. Her name was even written on the memorial stone.

"Sakura…Rin." He whispered, almost choking out the words. His mind was clouding when he remembered the day Rin "died."

Flashback----

Kakashi and Rin and Asuma flew trough the forest, pursuing the missing-nin, called Komuchi. The woman had mass murdered almost a whole village and several clans.

She was completely mad, but did not make that impression on the three jounins chasing after her. She was calm and collected, and made few mistakes.

Suddenly she stopped and jumped down to the ground, the three of them followed her without even thinking it may be a trap, it wasn't, but if it had been, they would've been toast.

Asuma took out his knife and concentrated his wind chakra, ready to fight.

Kakashi lifted the headband and revealed his sharingan, which Rin had implanted six years earlier. Kakashi knew she still blamed herself for the death of Obito, and tried to hide the sharingan from her view as best as possible.

"Well well well, what have we here? A wind chakra user, a sharingan implantation, and a medical ninja. You think you can beat me that easily?" The woman asked almost offended, and the shinobis exchanged looks.

Komuchi had bright yellow cat eyes and long braided black hair. She held her hands out from her body and spun around one round. Kakashis eyes widened as he had seen the chakra strings from her fingertips that had cut trough a tree. And only a second later, the said tree started falling and met the ground with a deafening crash.

"Well, don't just stand there, fight me!" She yelled at them and only stood there with her arms out to the sides.

Kakashi and Asuma charged while Rin jumped up into the air readied a taijutsu combo in her head. She was great strategist and had several plans on how Komuchi would move.

While Kakashi and Asuma kept Komuchis attention on them, Rin came down on her and started spinning around with one foot stretched out in front of her. But as she came closer to the ground, she realised her mistake to late. Komuchi brought her one hand up over her head and did a spinning motion with it, and Rin felt the 'invisible to the eye' strings wrap around her body.

She screamed as Komuchi tightened them and made Rin spin around in the air by a flick of her wrist. Komuchi even went as far as sending the young woman flying towards Kakashi and Asuma, knocking them out of the way.

Komuchi dragged Rin to her and held Rin up from the ground with one hand while the other hand was drawn back.

Kakashi saw that she assembled her fingertips, so that they formed a cone, but for him with sharingan he saw so much more. Her chakra strings attached to each other and made one thick chakra knife. Asuma and Kakashi watched in horror as Komuchi stabbed the chakra knife into Rins chest, and saw their team-mates body fall limply to the ground. There was no blood, no pain, only death.

After that Komuchi made short business with Kakashi and Asuma by cutting over their muscles in their thighs so they could no longer follow her.

And she was about to scram, when her eyes connected with Rins dead and cold eyes. A deadly smile crept upon her face, as she picked up Rins body and disappeared into the forest.

End of flashback ----

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love you all for reading, and an extra thanks to the reviewers, they really make my day, and keeps me writing, so thank you.


	8. Chapter 8

Hey, I'm on a roll now XD new chapter, and I think this one's the longest so far. Read and be happy folkz

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**Chapter 8**

Rin looked at Kakashi as if she never had seen him before, and it hurt in Kakashis chest. And it hurt even more when he saw Sakura getting into her battle stance, with blazingly yellow eyes.

Sasuke stared wide eyed at how different Sakura was, her face and eyes which used to reflect emotions was now closed and cold. Her eyes were a golden yellow with slit pupils. And in her stance he saw that she would not hesitate in attacking him. Sasuke did not know the other woman, though she wore a Konoha head protector.

"You died." Sasuke heard Kakashi say, and he saw that Kakashi was shaking, from fright, sadness or anger, he did not know.

"I did?" The woman asked and tilted her head to one side with a soft smile on her lips, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. They were as yellow and cold as the others eyes.

"In that case, I must be your worst fear?" She said and her smile grew wider.

"Fear?" Kakashi voiced the word as if it was poison and Rins smile faltered.

"Why should I ever fear you?" He asked and Rins eyes narrowed at the comment. Sasuke watched as Rin snapped her fingers, and at the same instant Sakura slammed her fist into the earth and opened a large crack in the ground, threatening to swallow anyone who came too close.

"This pink haired kunoichi…you know her, right?" Rin asked and placed a hand on Sakuras shoulder, and to the two leaf shinobis shock, Sakura leant into the touch and closed her eyes in obvious pleasure.

"I am these kunoichis master and sensei; I have made them what they are today." Rin said and patted Sakuras head, like she would a dog. It angered Kakashi to see, and Sasuke was almost loosing his mind from the humiliation Sakura received.

"Why?" Kakashi asked, and confusion flashed across Rins face before she grinned again.

"It's fun." Was her simple answer and Kakashi could no longer hold back his anger. This wasn't the Rin he knew, this was a monster.

He threw a kunai, directing at her throat, and Rin stood there motionlessly and stared Kakashi in the eye, and when the kunai was only inches from her throat, she grabbed it by the handle and let it fall to the ground.

"You'll need more than that to take me down." She snapped and charged at Kakashi. They met in a blurring taijutsu fight, where they were equally good. Frustrated that she did not get in any punches, Rin jumped away from Kakashi and made a few hand seals and murmured some words which Kakashi did not catch.

His sharingan saw the familiarity in the jutsu, and he could finally see the connection in this chaos. Her fingers glowed with chakra, and when she slashed into the air with her and, strings reached out and hit him in the shoulder. He avoided her next attacks and ran deeper into the forest, he had to rapport it to the Hokage.

Summoning Pakkun and sending him away just in time till she found him.

"You can run, but you cannot hide." She mocked and a wicked look in her eyes pushed away all doubt in Kakashis mind. This was the same person whom he, Asuma and Rin had fought so many years ago. Well it was Rin, but still she had the same wicked way of thinking as Komuchi had had.

"You transplanted this eye, and now I'll have to use it against you, how ironic." He said and Rin nodded.

"I can't remember, but it would be ironic indeed." She said and slashed out and the strings slashed his chest open. He could feel how deep the wounds were, and the hot blood flowed down his chest.

Naruto watched as Sasuke hesitated in punching Sakura, and she took the opportunity and hit him with her inhuman power. Sasuke flew several metres back, only to hit a tree trunk and got the air hit out of him.

He stumbled to his feet, and didn't react when she kicked him flying into another tree. Naruto sighed, but kept himself out of it until it would be lethal to Sasuke. He wanted to see if Sasuke would get his mind on the right track and knock her unconscious.

Sasuke did not though, and when he had a broken nose, several broken ribs, blood trickling from his mouth and nose, and he had two black eyes, Naruto decided to turn the fight around.

"You are not Sakura, therefore I will not hesitate in harming you." Naruto said casually and disappeared in a flash. Sasuke tried to stop Naruto, but it was too late, the two team-mates were already out of his hearing range.

He flinched by every hit Sakura took from Naruto, and he stared wide eyed as he saw Naruto taking blow after blow from Sakura. It was a fight of friend and enemy, Sasuke came to realise.

Naruto fought Sakura as a friend who tried to save a friend, while Sakura fought an enemy with no purpose behind it.

Iruka came rushing over to Sasuke and healed his worst cuts and wounds, but he was not qualified to heal broken bones so Sasuke would have to join Lee in safety from the battles going on.

Shikamaru fought the blonde kunoichi from Suna, her eyes did not recognise him, and somehow it bothered him more than it should have. She attacked him again and again, not giving him enough time to think, he was already slashed open several places from her wind.

It hurt like hell, but he ignored it, he had to keep fighting. He didn't want to hurt her though, and she seemed to notice, taking the opportunity when given it.

He saw Neji fighting a black haired girl who fought with a sword, and even he had some difficulties. He had several wounds on his body, but nothing crucial.

Shikamaru also saw Kakashi summoning his dog and sent it away, so he knew that help weren't that far away. They would just have to hold on until help came at their rescue.

What he was afraid of though, was that these kunoichis probably had more kunoichis deeper in the forest, in case anything should go really bad.

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Tsunade practically jumped out of her chair when she saw Pakkun, and got even more worried when she saw the desperate look in his eyes.

He ran over to her, and she kneeled beside him.

"Kakashi and the rest of them are fighting strong Kunoichis. Rin, Kakashis former team-mate is their leader. They have made Sakura our enemy. They need help. Follow the chakra trail." He said rapidly before disappearing into a poof of white smoke.

Tsunade stared ahead with her honey brown eyes and a deep frown formed her features.

"Gather every jounin and chuunin available, I want two teams, six on each team. Avoid bringing too many kunoichis, but bring Hyuuga Hinata and Hyuuga Hanabi, and Inuzuka Hana." Tsunade shouted to Shizune and said medic ran out of the office.

Tsunade slumped into her chair and buried her face into her arms.

"Rin, Sakura, who else have fallen victim to this group?" She muttered, and looked up as a file slammed down on her desk. She stared up at Jiraya with an annoyed look on her face, but he just kept serious, and he would normally have grinned and come up with a lame excuse for surprising her.

"That is number 99: Komuchi. One of Orochimarus experiments. A missing-nin. Kakashi, Asuma and Rin persuaded her on a mission, Rin was reported killed by Komuchi, but the body was never brought back to Konoha." Jiraya explained. Tsunade stared at him with a blank stare, not understanding what this was all about at a time like this.

"Here's my wild and logical guess: Komuchi escaped from Orochimarus place, brought with her some of the poison that had been tested on her, giving her enlarged chakra streams, giving them inhuman power. Tiring on their body, giving them yellow eyes as a side effect. She brought Rin with her as the first member of her kunoichi group, as the data from Orochimarus place says that all the other experiments were men, something in the males' cell makes the poison lethal to our system, and Komuchi knew this. She injected the poison into Rins system, and the interesting thing is that they seem to forget who they are and are easily manipulated by their creator, meaning the one inserting the poison. Another interesting thing is that Komuchi had some unknown treatment under the experiment, allowing her body to maintain the body's poison, but if you don't have this treatment, someone will have to maintain the poison with highly concentrated chakra." Jiraya said, Tsunade stared wide eyed at him.

"But if Rin didn't have that treatment, who's maintaining the poison in her and all the other kunoichis bodies?" She asked confused.

"Who do you think?" Jiraya asked, it was not a obvious question, it was a question, asking her sincerely about her opinion. And she nodded.

"Take care of it." She growled and pointed at the door.

"Find her, and kill her. Find Naruto first." Tsunade sunk back into her office chair and spun away from the door and viewed her beautiful village, as long as it had lasted anyway. She sighed.

"I'm getting way too old for this."

ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZzz

Kakashi saw the teams coming, but he knew it would be heard beating these women, even with their help, seeing as they were much stronger than a normal ninja.

Jiraya came together with them; he gave Kakashi a short salute, eyed Rin for a second, before he disappeared into the forest.

"Focus on your battle." Rin mocked and slashed him with her chakra thread. Kakashi howled as the wound burned his flesh and when he looked down on the open wound, he saw that it was literally boiling. The flesh was on fire, and he could see as the skin around the wound turning black.

"You know about fire chakra don't you?" Rin spat while admiring the pained look on his face, and was not concerned with her own sadistic thoughts.

Kakashi bit the pain down the best he could, and he noticed the environment around him, the crippled trees, the moss which was wet with his blood, the sun was high in the sky, but there were no birds singing.

He realised that he had never really fought anyone this strong before, no wonder; she had defeated Jiraya after all. She was the one most likely to kill him, and he found himself not ready to die, he wanted to live for just a little longer.

He had believed that when his father, Obito, Yondaime and Rin died in a rapid sequence, he lost his will to live, and continued taking the hardest missions, hoping deep inside that he would die by the hand of someone stronger than he. Though Kakashi always was the victorious one, time after time, he believed that some day, he would meet a strong ninja, strong enough to kill him.

Rin, his former team-mate was that one strong ninja capable of killing him, but now he no longer had a death wish, he had something to live for. He had Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, he had to see Naruto become Hokage, he had to see Sasuke rebuild the Uchiha clan, and he had to see Sakura…he had to see her every day, even though it was in the arms of another man, he had to see her live happily.

Rin saw the change in her opponents eyes, if they had been cold before, they definitely weren't cold no more. A flame had been lit inside his eyes, and for the first time in many years, she felt fear when he stared at her.

This was a man who wanted to live, a man with something to live for.

And when he raced at her with a speed she had never seen before, she ha to concentrate harder than with the old man sannin she had almost killed earlier.

ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZz

Naruto delivered a final blow to Sakuras head, and she sunk down on the ground unconscious. He bent down and picked her up from the ground, not regretting the beating he had given her, and carried her over to where Sasuke and Lee where hiding.

"Take care of her. Don't worry Sasuke, she's just unconscious." Naruto soothed when Sasuke stared wide eyed at Sakuras beat up body, and Naruto received a sad smile from Sasuke in return.

"I know Naruto, you did well out there." He said and Naruto grinned his infamous grin.

"See ya!" He said and moved into the battle area again. People were fighting everywhere, Konoha ninja against Kunoichis from all over the world it seemed.

**'Jiraya's coming Kit' **Kyuubi voice in his head and Naruto nodded, already feeling his senseis chakra.

"Naruto, come with me, we have a cat to take care of." Jiraya said, Naruto nodded without further question, he trusted his sensei and followed him willingly.

"Are you well?" Naruto asked when they were flying trough the tree tops, and Jiraya grinned.

"Never been better." He said and they continued in silence.

Jiraya stopped and placed a hand on Narutos shoulder.

"You feel that?" He asked and Naruto nodded.

"She's extremely powerful, and so is her summons. Remember, there's no need in catching her alive, we'll have to kill her to break the connection with the poison in the kunoichis bodies. There's no way around this Naruto." Jiraya said. Naruto nodded.

"No summon is as strong as mine, and you know that, that's why you brought me?" Naruto asked and Jiraya smiled.

"Partly because of that, but also because you're the right man for the job, just wait and see, I know you can do it." Jiraya answered and grinned. Naruto nodded and moved into a new territory, the territory of one certain black cat.

"ah, a visitor? How nice of you to drop by." A soft voice whispered and Naruto turned around, and there a beautiful woman stood behind him, he hadn't even felt her and Kyuubi hadn't noticed her either.

"A weakling like you, what are you doing here?" She mocked and reached out a hand and stroked his chin lovingly. Her yellow eyes pierced him and her long braided black hair shone like silk.

"Want me to play with you?" She whispered in his ear, Naruto stayed impassive while she continued mocking him, and Kyuubi was grinning evilly inside his head.

**'Let me show her Kit, let me show her the wrath of the demon lord. The Black Panther is nothing up against me. Come on, let me out.'** He said in Narutos mind, and a weak smile spread across Narutos mouth. His eyes turned red, and the pupils slit.

"I won't play with you, but my friend will." Naruto said and Komuchi took a few steps back.

"Konohas pathetic summons doesn't even stand a chance against Rins kitty, how are you supposed to win over my Black Panther?" She sneered and showed of her two small fangs. Naruto grinned and showed of his set of canines as well.

"Because, I'm the one and only Uzumaki Naruto." He said and bit his thumb so the blood flowed from his finger and he grinned at Komuchi, before slamming his hand into the ground.

"Kuchiyose Kyuubi no jutsu." He said with a spinning voice.

Komuchi jumped back and stared at the giant fox before her, his nine tails swirling around him, and his glowing red eyes directed at her.

He grinned evilly and moved his claw down to her level and chuckled, his voice carrying far.

**"Let me see your kitty." **He rumbled and Komuchi stared wide eyed.

"He can talk." She murmured frightened, but her eyes turned cold again and a wicked smile crept upon her face.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu." She shouted, bit her thumb and slammed it to the ground. A large panther appeared before Kyuubi. It was a female obviously, and she had long fangs and one long tail with a arrowhead at the tip. She whipped it around her body and sneered at Kyuubi.

"Kyuubi, you'll handle this one on your own." Naruto shouted at Kyuubi before placing himself on the sideline. Komuchi glared at Naruto before jumping up on the panthers back.

Demon and summon crashed together in a intense fight, Kyuubi being a lot larger than the panther took the lead on the battle

It wasn't very impressive Naruto thought, Kyuubi took care of the panther in a few minutes, and that was when the real fight started.

Naruto had to fight Komuchi.

**"Good luck Kit, now it's your turn."** Kyuubi muttered before disappearing in a flash of fire.

Naruto smirked at Komuchi as he saw that she was shocked to the core.

"You're the Kyuubi jinchuuriku aren't you? I'm honoured to fight someone like you, but remember, you cannot win." She said and disappeared in a flash and appeared behind Naruto.

"Flash step? You're not the only one who has read the scrolls of Yondaime." Naruto said and disappeared in a yellow flash. Komuchi sent her chakra strings after him. They spun around his upper body, and she tightened in. Narutos body disappeared in a poof.

A clone, Komuchi growled in her mind.

Komuchi raised her hands so they were water lined with her shoulders, and she started spinning around, cutting up every tree in a one hundred metres radius. The trees crashed down to the ground and left a open space.

Naruto stared wide eyed at the view.

**'She's strong Naruto. You'll have to use that.'** Kyuubi said in his mind. Naruto was hesitant. He hadn't used that technique ever since Tsunade forbade it.

He jumped away from another slash with her chakra strings, but got a serious cut in the stomach. He staggered away from another slash and almost lost his arm in the process.

'okay, I'll have to use it, it's my only option, I won't get in any hits here.' Naruto said in his mind, and made clone, while avoiding Komuchis chakra strings. He made a bunch of five clones and sent them at Komuchi.

Komuchi didn't fall for the confusion Naruto tried to inflict upon her, and while her eyes were fixated upon the real Naruto, whipping him so he wouldn't be able to concentrate his chakra enough to try on anything, she whipped away the clones with one swipe.

Naruto spun away from the strings and saw them cut up an innocent tree, which was supposed to be him.

Naruto summoned up wind chakra and made a solid shield around his body. The chakra strings couldn't break trough the shield and Naruto grinned at her.

He concentrated chakra to his hand while maintaining the shield. The rasengan took shape in his hand, and he added his wind chakra into the rasengan, and the rasengan evolved into a shuriken shaped chakra ball.

Naruto felt the cells in his arm being ripped apart by each second passing by, and he broke down the shield and raced at her. Several slashes were delivered to his upper body and arms, but as soon the strings connected with the shuriken they ceased to exist.

Komuchi tried to jump out of his way, but hands shoot up from the ground, and she saw clones holding her in place.

Feeling the power of the shuriken rasengan she lifted her hands in front of her body to protect her from the intact, but when Naruto slammed the shuriken into her hands, they dispersed into the air and the shuriken continued and slammed into her chest.

Screaming in agony Komuchi fell back and gripped her chest. Even though the shuriken no longer rested on her chest, she could still feel the pain, like she was ripped apart from the inside.

Naruto watched as her skin decomposed and withered away. Her cells were destroyed, and he knew exactly what she felt at the moment, because the same was happening in his arm.

He stared down his own body and saw how crucial the damage to his body really was. His stomach was ripped open and he had several deep gashes across his ribs.

**'Kit, be conscious, stay awake, Kit, can you hear me? I'm healing your wounds, stay awake.' **Naruto heard Kyuubis voice in the distance, before his knees gave away underneath him, and he started falling to the ground. The last thing he felt was Kyuubis chakra leaving his body, like when he summoned Kyuubi, and the gentle teeth lifting him up from the ground.

ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz**ZZZZZZZZZZ **

Kakashi avoided and evaded kicks and hits in a rapid order, he knew his chakra reserves were ending, so he had to end this fight now. He made a clone and made the clone fight Rin while he prepared for Chidori.

And when the clone disappeared in a poof of smoke, he launched himself towards Rin.

He did not see the change of colour in her eyes, before it was too late. He saw the shocked expression and the betrayal.

"Kakashi? Why?" She asked with a weak voice, Kakashi didn't realise at first because his mind was so clouded with anger that he did not realise his mistake.

She gripped his arm that was sticking into her chest, and tugged at it.

"What happened? Kakashi?" Her voice was desperate and he saw the tears strolling down her cheeks.

"Rin?" Kakashi asked, and his heart sunk in his chest when he saw her ebony brown eyes staring frightened at him.

"I don't want to die. Why did you kill me?" She asked and her voice withered away between the desperate sobs.

"Oh, Rin I'm so sorry, I'm sorry. I'll…I'll…Rin don't die." He begged and fell to his knees with her in his arms, but as he saw that her life was falling away, he hugged her to his body.

"Say hi to Obito for me, and tell him I'm sorry." He whispered into her ear and ripped his hand out of her chest, ending her pain. She fell limp in his arms, and Kakashi lifted her up.

"I'll live for the both of you." He murmured.

He carried her all the way back to Konoha, but he did not enter the village, instead he took her to the height just outside the village where the sakura trees bloomed.

Sakura petals stroked her cold white skin, her brown hair fluttered in the soft breeze.

He placed her softly on the soft grass and rose up.

Kakashi stared down at his bloody hands. The blood was still warm and felt like it belonged on those hands, stained by death, Kakashi thought and smiled sadly. Blood seemed to flood all around him as well, so many had been killed that night. But this blood belonged to someone special, someone close to his heart. The girl he was supposed to protect, the one he had promised to protect. He had failed her, and he had failed himself.

Rain was soaking him and washing away the crimson blood off his body. He needed some time to himself, which was what he had told the others, it was partly true. Though he also needed time to bury this girl, this human being, he had to bury her, the place she always wanted to sleep for the eternity. She had told him just before her heart stopped beating, when he had hammered on her chest, pleading her to not give up. Very out of character, yes, but no one is themselves when they loose someone they care about.

Under the sakura trees, she had always admired their beauty; she told him once that she wanted to be just as pretty as those flowers. And she did, she grew to be the prettiest woman he had ever seen, only one woman could rival her beauty, but he didn't want to think about her now.

When he was finished digging the grave, he placed her into the ground and shut the grave solemnly. Afterwards he placed a sakura flower on the grave and bowed his head.

"Rest in peace here Rin, alongside the man who loved you. I hope you find peace in your heart and that you'll find the man of your heart wherever you are now. Please tell him I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you, from myself or anyone else." Kakashi murmured and placed a tombstone on the grave, beside the other tombstone on the hill. On the other one it read, Uchiha Obito, always loved.

"Here rests two thirds of the genin team with all the tragedies." Kakashi muttered, feeling miserable.

ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZz

Kyuubi walked straight into the village, it being night so there weren't many villagers outside. Jiraya ran alongside the giant fox that held Naruto gently between his teeth.

They headed for the hospital and Tsunade came running outside, she was no longer intimidated by Kyuubi and greeted him just like she did Gamabunta or any other great, respectable demon.

"Get him inside, Kyuubi, you might want to support him now, thank you." She said.

**"Anytime Godaime." **He rumbled and disappeared in a flash of fire.

Jiraya carried Narutos limp body inside and Tsunade shouted orders along the way for the other medics who were treating the other hurt ninjas.

She brought Naruto to the room beside her office.

"Jiraya, hold him down." She ordered, Jiraya did as told. She walked around the table and stared at his damaged arm, and sighed.

"I'll have to give him new knuckles in his arm, they're totally dispersed. It will hurt him, even though he's unconscious, so be sure to hold him hard." She said and placed her hands around his arm and green chakra surrounded her hands. A loud scream pierced Jirayas ears, and he understood that it wasn't Naruto screaming, it was Kyuubi. Narutos body got violent spasms and Jiraya had a real hard time holding him down.

"Hold him!" Tsunade shouted over the heart shattering screams.

ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZ

Tsunade sat by Sakuras side, she was angry and sad and relieved, it showed in her eyes. And when she looked at Sakura, she couldn't help herself but blame much of it on sakura for running away like that in the first place. So now she was just waiting for her dumb student to wake up so she could shout at her.

Sasuke was healing well, so did Lee. Hana and Hinata had been hurt, but they were alright as well. Hinata had been so worried about Naruto when he didn't come back at the same time with all the others that she fainted. Shikamaru was being watched by Temari who apologised every minute, and Neji was just barely hurt at all. Iruka had fallen together when he came back to Konoha from exhaustion and was sleeping at his own apartment.

The only one Tsunade was worried about at the moment was Naruto and Kakashi. Narutos life, in spite of the Kyuubi inside him, was still in danger, and she hadn't even seen Kakashi since he walked of with his dead team-mate in his arms to bury her. She feared that he had might died from the blood loss somewhere outside of Konoha.

Jiraya came into the room with a bright smile.

"Good news."

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

So there's the end of this chapter, but hang around, I'll be up with more very soon

Will there ever be any end to this?

Next chapter will probably be more emotional than any previous chapter, so stay tuned

peace


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm reeeeeaaaallly sorry for not updating in a while, truly sorry folks. New chapter, not much action going on, but some points that needs to be made here. **

**(Kyuubi, Naruto talk) **

**The squishy lovey stuff will begin for real after this chappy :D look forward to it **

**Chapter 9 **

Kakashi stumbled to his feet, he threw a final glance at the two graves and he staggered down from the hill. If you did not see the deep gashes and the blood on his body, you could mistake him for a drunkard, but once you got close he took on a whole different appearance.

Rins' chakra threads had wounded him severely, and the fact that he still was able to stand was exceptionally.

Stumbling trough the forest and heading towards the gate, he hoped to meet some ANBUS on the way, as he believed that he was too weak go all the way, seeing as he almost no longer could see ten feet ahead of him.

"So this is how you grieve your fallen ones?" A womans voice asked and he whipped around. Only seeing a blurred figure leaning against a tree.

"Who?" He choked out and blood splattered out on the ground before him.

"I see, it's that bad huh?" She asked and came closer to him, he made out the face of Shizune and two other ANBU by her sides. She frowned at him.

"Tsunade sent me out to look for you." She explained and healed his worst damages, before ordering the two ANBUs to carry him back to Konoha.

She shook her head resigned when she looked down at him and he met her eyes and he understood that people had been worried about him.

"how're the others?" He asked strained and Shizune gave him a sharp look.

"They're fine, thanks to Naruto." She snapped and continued walking. She was getting rather irritated with this stoic man, who always seemed to get in trouble and always came worst out of it.

"Sakura?" The name fell from his lips like they hurt him more than thousand knife stabs could, and Shizune gave him an odd look over her shoulder.

"She and all the others are okay, thanks to Naruto," She paused and drew a long breath," and that demon."

Kakashis eyes snapped open and he stared at her with an unfathomable look.

"Kyuubi?" The word came out as a bloody choke and Shizune placed a finger over his bloody lips.

"Shut up you dumb man, Tsunade-sama wants you to be present when she announces her decision." Shizune snapped at him, and Kakashi was about to ask more, but she just sent him a cold glare, and Kakashi thought better of it.

ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZ

A moan rolled of her natural pink lips and her emerald eyes snapped open. Panic could be seen deep in those mesmerising orbs. Tsunade leant over her shivering body and placed two strong hands charged with chakra on her shoulders, holding her down as her body started writhing.

A scream caught in the pink haired kunoichis throat as she trashed around under the strength of the Hokage. Tears sprouted out from the corners of her eyes.

"Haruno Sakura, snap out of it." Tsunades firm voice forced Sakura to calm down and when she finally laid still, Tsunade let go of her shoulders and placed herself in the chair she had been sitting in the last few hours.

"Oh my God what have I done, where's Sasuke?" Sakura whispered and horror was visible in her eyes.

"He's fine, he's been worse. Just relax Sakura, it's okay, you're not to blame, well partly you are, but if you hadn't gone out there, that group would have come here to Konoha, and the outcome would've been worse." Tsunade sighed and smiled tiredly. She was really becoming too old for this job, she could feel every tragedy being drawn to tight over her body like a second skin.

Sakura stared ahead with a defiant look, her hands were trembling.

"It's my fault, I hurt Sasuke, it was I that almost killed him. What if, what if Naruto hadn't stepped in?" She whimpered. Tsunade shrugged and placed her hands on her hips irritably.

"But Naruto did step in, and everything's okay." She said stoic and let out a tired breath.

"Sakura, you need to relax, the toxic is not yet out of your system." She said lowly, which made Sakura freeze. She turned slowly towards her shishou with a shocked expression.

"What do you mean?"

OOOOOOOOOOOooooooooOOOOOOOOOOO

Jiraya hadn't got much sleep that night, as Kyuubis screams of pain hunted him trough his dreams. He had awoken several times, bathing in sweat while feeling a chill of distaste run down his spine. He had had terrible dreams of torture and death, also a dream that hunted him everywhere. The death of Yondaime. The day the death god reached his hand trough both Yondaime and Narutos body, grasping Kyuubi, sealing him inside Naruto, and killing Yondaime in the process. It was his worst memory, and he as an old man, had experienced quite a lot. He had survived a war, a war between ninjas.

Tired and shaken up he walked to the hospital early in the morning, as he could not get another minute of sleep, he didn't dare close his eyes, in fright of seeing Yondaime die all over again.

Shizune met him in the lowest level of the Hokage tower; she greeted him with a smile, something he thought of as a good sign. He continued up the stairs up till the highest level, where the Hokage office and Narutos injured body laid.

He didn't bother going in trough Tsunades office, and went straight into the operation room where she had placed Naruto in his critical state.

But there were no Naruto, there were no one. Only an empty operation table and sterilised metal tools, and Jiraya walked into Tsunades office. No one there either.

Jiraya huffed and jumped out of the open window in her office and set course for the hospital.

OOOOOOOOOOoooooooooOOOOOOOOOOO

It was still night when Naruto woke up from his deep slumber, and the first thing he noticed was the pain in his hand, not strange due to his cells being ripped apart. Second he noticed the presence of another ninja. He turned his head, grinding his teeth in pain as he felt a wound on his neck being ripped open. There, on the other bed, laid Sasuke. He seemed to be in good shape, due to Sakuras bashing.

The Uchiha seemed to b sleeping though, so Naruto didn't want to wake him up, instead the blonde moved into a state of mind where he and Kyuubi could have a decent conversation, without anyone listening or butting in. It was called the Beta, Kyuubi taught him that the human mind had three stages in their mind. It was Alfa, where the mind is awake and thinking clearly, you notice everything that's happening around you. There's Beta, which is the state some call a light slumber. You notice partly what's happening around you, but your mind are somewhere else. And then there's Tetra, which is sleep, you don't notice what's happening around you at all, and your mind is not focused on the material world anymore. There's a fourth stage as well, called Omega, but if you've entered Omega, you will most possibly not wake up again, some are lucky and do, those who are that lucky, call their experience, a near-death experience. As Omega in an other word, is death. Of course there's different stages of the main stages as well, but the human mind is so complex and fluctuating, that there's no real answer to it yet.

"Fur-ball? Talk to me." Naruto almost demanded, and in his mind, an illusion of the Kyuubi took form. The fox created a virtual world in the blondes' mind, this time a long white beach and crystal clear blue water. The Kyuubi was also different from his real form; he was now at Narutos size, so they could talk normally to each other.

"What do you want me to say?" The Kyuubis voice was still deep and mocking, but it had an edge to it, something Naruto had not heard before.

"Dunno." Naruto muttered lamely and kicked the sand, with his bare feet. He was dressed in orange shorts and a black t-shirt with the Uzumaki spiral on it. It brought with it a form of nostalgia, as it were the same clothing he had used when he was younger.

They walked in silence, or Kyuubi gave Naruto the impression that he was walking alongside the water. In reality Naruto sat in his bed, legs crossed in a meditative position, with his eyes closed, and a peaceful look on his face.

"Could I have done anything differently? Could I have kept so many from getting injured?" Naruto asked the nine tailed fox. Kyuubi stopped and stared amused at Naruto with his blazing red eyes.

"I almost wish that I had." The fox said, the edge Naruto had heard earlier grew more evident, and Naruto could now make out the sound of regret in Kyuubis mocking voice, though at this point no mock or sarcasm could be found in the demons voice.

"I was the one who asked you to use the shuriken rasengan; you could have saved yourself a lot of pain if you hadn't used it. You almost lost your right arm." He sat down in the sand and stared at the unmoving water, Naruto flopped down in the sand beside him and smiled.

"Furball is worried about me?" He asked and gave the fox a light push. Kyuubi lifted his head so that his neck was exposed.

"You entered Omega, Kit. That's nothing to joke about." The harsh voice threw Naruto of-guard for a second, but he soon regained his composure and smiled slightly, but stared dreamily in front of him.

"I didn't even notice." He whispered soundlessly and closed his eyes.

"Of course you didn't, haven't you listened to what I have taught you? Only those who move straight from Alfa to Omega can have flashes of their life, the future or the present when they die, but you were already in a state of Tetra. Is your memory failing or something?" The mocking voice was back, the way Naruto liked it. He never felt comfortable when Kyuubi put up that serious face, it made him feel like a child again, inexperienced and stupid. Which was how the Kyuubi saw him still, in Kyuubis eyes even the third Hokage had been a child, an old looking child, but still a child.

"Then it's good to have a lexicon like you, right furball?" Naruto snickered when the Kyuubi growled lowly.

His laughter died down fast though, as he thought about what Sakura had been turned into.

"Sakura's okay right?" He asked and the demon beside him fell still, and he understood right away that something was not right.

"She's well now that Komuchis' dead right?" Naruto asked again and when the Kyuubi still didn't answer, he whipped his head around to stare at the fox with wide eyes.

"Answer me, you clearly know the answer." Naruto demanded growing rather panic struck.

"She is not controlled by that woman anymore, but…the poison still runs in her veins. She was the last one to be injected with the toxic, so I'm guessing that Komuchi had maybe found a way to keep the poison in the person's body, without keeping the virus alive with her own chakra. I noticed that a string of chakra didn't go to her body, as it did to all the other women. They were attached to Komuchi, but Sakura weren't. Even I know that Komuchi was a master at mind control." The Kyuubi stated, and a lump grew in his stomach, a lump of self-reproach. His eyes glazed and he self-consciously buried his face in his hands. The Kyuubi stared knowingly at the young man beside him.

"There's nothing you could have done differently, Kit. It has to be this way." The Kyuubi murmured, and knew instantly that Naruto would start yelling at him for telling him the truth, but the blonde one surprised and started laughing instead.

"You always know what to say, don't you?" He asked between the gulping for air, and the hiccups following.

"Sometimes I have to wonder. You are a strange one Kit, you truly are." The Kyuubi muttered before dispersing, leaving Naruto alone on the beach. And the minute the fox left, Naruto stopped laughing, and his mask fell.

Naruto liked their chats, and he liked that Kyuubi understood him, but sometimes he just had to be alone. Think trough things, and be the Naruto that he felt like being. He was not the sharpest knife in the drawer when he was young, but he had grown both mentally and physically. He had learnt so much from the Kyuubi, of former battles, of legends, of tactics, of proper chakra use and new techniques. He had to admit that Kyuubi had taught him everything his father should have taught him, the father that had never been there. Up to this day, he still didn't know who his father and mother were, though he had a clue on his father, but his mother was totally unknown to him. When he thought about it, he had no interest of knowing who his parents were either, afraid of what he might find maybe, he didn't know. All he knew was that Kyuubi worked as a father, comrade, friend and teacher. As long as Naruto had the opportunity to help and protect Konoha, be acknowledged by the people in it, and be known as the sixth Hokage, he was happy. It was only these last few years he had added the 'help and protect' part. And it was only these few last years that the common people in Konoha had praised him as a ninja and a fellow villager. When he brought Sasuke back, only then had he wanted to protect Konoha, to make the villagers proud of him. He had never hated them for hating him, they had the right to, he thought. In truth they were afraid of him, and he understood it perfectly, the demon had destroyed and killed their homes and family, they had to be mad if they weren't angry.

Naruto had learned to forgive, they had hurt him, made him cry, and harassed him as long as he could remember, but when he saw their happy faces as he walked alongside a pretty beaten Sasuke, he forgot it all.

He took a deep breath, and could almost smell the salty water. The sun hung high in the sky, heating up the white sand. It was a wonderful landscape Kyuubi had created, but the emptiness he felt when staring at the blue sea, told him that everything was so unreal that he could reach out and touch the sun without getting burnt.

He let out a long steady breath, and started the process of moving from Beta to Alfa. It felt just like waking up from a slumber, with the exception of remembering everything that he had thought, felt and talked about in his 'slumber'.

"Naruto." The comfortable voice of his fiancée reached his ears, and a smile spread across his tired face. She came into his view, sitting in a chair beside his bed, with those pearl coloured eyes gazing at him under heavy lashes. Hinata was possibly the one who had changed the most of the rookie nine, her face had grown softer and her eyes had changed from childlike innocence to a womanly charm. Her hair was cut short like she used to have it, but it suited her so much better than the long hair she had grown to try and impress him with.

He raised his wounded arm and placed it against her chin, stroking her soft skin gently. She closed her eyes and leant against his hand, and he knew instantly why he loved her so much. Her very being, those eyes, her thoughts, her smiles, her everything. She was perfect, and he regretted not seeing her earlier when he was on his knees after Sakura.

"I love you." He whispered and her eyes widened for a split second, before she smiled that cute and innocent smile. He knew how honest and pure those words had been, falling from his mouth, he had even surprised himself.

"Even if I were on the brink of dying, I would still love you." He murmured and let his hand slide behind her neck and he pulled her down to him. Their faces were only inches apart, and he could feel her steady breath on his own lips, he could taste her, even before their lips met.

"And if one day, darkness falls upon this land, and everything is misery, you shall know that I will still love you, Hyuuga Hinata." He whispered and he saw her close her beautiful eyes before leaning down the last few inches and meeting his lips in a soft and careful kiss.

She pulled back and smiled down at him.

"You know I will do the same, I love you too, Uzumaki Naruto." She whispered in one breath, before leaning down and meeting his lips passionately again.

OOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooOOOOOOO

Kakashi jolted up in the hospital bed, seeing all his wounds healed by clever hands. He jumped out of bed, winced soundlessly when one wound opened up again and blood ran down his thigh. He didn't care though; he just had to get out of this sterile house. Finding his clothes ripped apart by Rins chakra threads and folded neatly on the only chair in the room, he just grabbed the pants and ran out of the room with the hospital gown still on.

He snuck down the hallway and used every shinobi hiding skill he had ever copied or learnt to get by the medics and nurses.

Sneaking under the reception desk, and out of view, he crawled on all four under the desk, and could finally see the exit door. And just when he was about to leap out from under the desk, and dash out for the exit, one pair of women feet placed themselves in front of where he was planning to run out from.

Worst of all was that he knew those feet. High heeled black sandals, green Capri pants? Only one woman in the whole of Konoha was dressed like that, and she was the scariest one of them all.

"Hatake Kakashi, get back in bed, right now!" Her voice was sharp and he immediately crawled out from underneath the desk and bowed to the Godaime before running back to his room.

"I think you've ended up in the wrong room sensei." Her voice sounded like it was broken and she had difficulties talking. He turned towards her, and his heart shattered. Her eyes were colourless, her skin pale, and her generally shiny pink hair now looked worn and grey.

He walked slowly towards her and not knowing what to think. Why was she like this? She was okay now, wasn't she?

"Must be destiny." He murmured, and placed himself in a chair beside her bed and smiled at her.

"I know how I look Kakashi-sensei, you don't have to act." She snapped and Kakashi caught himself wondering how alike she and Tsunade had become.

"Why?" He asked and leant his elbows on the edge of her mattress.

"The toxic still runs in me, don't worry, I'll be okay in a couple of days, but I won't be rid of the poison, as it has already affected my nerve system. I will attain that same strength and speed that I had when fighting Sa…" Her voice had grown kind of happy, until remembering what she had done to Sasuke. She bowed her head in shame.

"I need help to control it, as I won't have entirely control over it right away." She looked up with a new spark in her green eyes.

"Kakashi-sensei, please help me."

OOOOOOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOOO

Love Zachura


	10. Chapter 10

I'm feeling kind of awkward about this chapter, something's not right about it… but something awesome is about to happen, so read trough XD

OOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooOOOOOOOOOO

**Chapter 10**

Kakashi stared unfathomable at her for a few seconds before smiling under the mask and tilted his head to one side.

"I need to be stronger, so I can take revenge for everything he did to me." Her voice was low and threatening, and she left no doubt about whom she was speaking of.

Kakashis faint smile withered away, and he relived the night she came to his apartment house, begging for entrance, cut up and abused in every aspect of the word. The desperate look in her eyes before she had fainted still haunted him when he looked at her. He remembered being so angry that he had wanted to kill the bastard, no one laid a hurting hand on any of his students. Though he had failed both Naruto and Sasuke on that part, with the Akatsuki almost killing Naruto, and Orochimaru taking Sasuke, but he had believed that he could save Sakura.

"I'll have to clear that up with the Hokage, I can't decide on such things on my own, Sakura, but I'll do my best to help you." He murmured before pushing himself out of the chair, and he met her eyes once more. They were smiling, a real smile for the first time in a very long while. He smiled back, one of those careless smiles he was so famous for, though it didn't show due to the mask covering his face, but Sakura could read his expressions only watching how his eye twitched.

When he was outside her door he leant against the wall and took a deep breath. Those feelings he had pushed aside only a few days before were back. That tickling feeling under his skin and the slight shivering he felt whenever her green orbs graced his own black orb with such innocence only Sakura could obtain. She had grown to be a beautiful woman, but that was the whole disturbing part of it all, he had watched her grow from a Sasuke-obsessed-twelve-year-old, to the strong kunoichi she was today. Seven years had he known her, and she probably knew only few things about him, while he knew almost all her habits, fails and flaws. Sakura was as talkative when she was a girl, as she was now, a grown woman. It was hard not to pick up something from her past and present.

She liked strawberries and cream, on hot summer evenings. Her dream date was a perfect sunset and a relaxing walk on a white beach. At her spare time she liked go shopping and peeking at Sasuke, as she had grown older that had changed to shopping, training and helping Ino in the flower shop.

Kakashi sighed, what was he really thinking? That in truth he wanted to ask her out? That he in truth wanted Sakura, and every aspect of her, all those cute habits?

Something as crazy as that could never happen, it should never happen. Both parts would be hurt. Kakashi was not a man you settled down with anyway, with his habits, his mood and strange attitude.

Everyone he had ever cared about had died. That had to mean something.

Maybe Kakashi wasn't supposed to feel happiness? Was he destined to kill for a living all his time?

He showed away from the wall and walked down the white hallway, a light shining at the end of the tunnel. Well that was familiar?

OOOOOOOOOoooooooOOOOOOOOOo

Tsunade sat with her hands folded and staring out her window in her office. A pile of papers were resting peacefully on her desk, waiting for her signature and a stamp. Oh how she hated paperwork, but that wasn't something she was bothered by at the moment. She felt old, stretched out and fragile. She had had her moments in life, it was on time someone else could get the chance to show some skills. Well she wasn't that old really, but the paperwork was killing her, literally.

The reason she was Hokage at all was because she lost a fucking stupid bet. Well, anyone was a better Hokage than the old-man Jiraya anyway.

She had thought of so many candidates to fill her seat on the top, and she had found three fitting persons. All very young, but also very vice. She would have to have reconciliation, and she decided that all of Konohas villagers were welcome to vote, not only the council. Tsunade would have a double vote, well; she was the Godaime after all.

"Ready for your announcement?" Shizune came in with a tray of tea and smiled cheerfully at her. Tsunade sighed and leant her head back, letting out a steady breath.

"I've been ready for some time already." She murmured and smiled lazily.

"You have served Konoha well, Tsunade-sama." Shizune said and placed herself by the chair Tsunade sat in and together they stared out over Konoha as the sun settled down between two hills far off in the distance.

"Konoha gave me my life; it would be unfair if I did not give anything in return." The Hokage whispered. Shizune nodded and gave Tsunade a cup of steaming tea.

"I hope the next Hokage does a good job, or I'll bash his or her head in." Tsunade muttered.

And she meant it, there was no humour hidden in her voice. She would be the Godaime until the day she would finally wrap up and die, but that would not happen anytime soon.

OOOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOOOOOOO

Shikamaru woke up in the middle of the night, not really knowing why he woke up at all. The troublesome woman had finally let him be, and had left to get some sleep of her own. The poison had not affected her body much, and she had just a few cuts and bruises, nothing too serious.

He liked thinking about the sand kunoichi when he was lying awake like this in the dark of the night. Her navy eyes and her sand blonde hair. And he liked thinking about if they maybe could have a future together. Shikamaru was ready to settle down, as young as he was, only nineteen, but he was definitely ready for something more than the flirt they had going on.

They had been speaking of it a few times already, but they hadn't decided anything, and the problem of her living in Suna and him living in Konoha. She had offered to move from Suna and live as a sand kunoichi in Konoha, if Tsunade would allow it. They had also mentioned it to the blonde Hokage, but back then Tsunade had given them a cold stare and rushed off, looking busy as always. They had taken that as a no, though they still had a slight hope that Temari didn't have to change alliance.

They still acted like friends among other people, not wanting anyone to think something else was going on between them, in case they had no future together.

A tired sigh escaped him and finally he noticed the presence of another person in the room. He located the person in the darkest corner, and as if being called out, the person stepped out of the shadows.

Kiba stood there, looking guilty for some reason, but not for something the dog-boy had done, no, he knew something he knew would affect Shikamaru. He forced out a smile, but Shikamaru did not return the gesture.

"What is it?" His voice was groggy after sleeping and his mind was still thinking of the blonde woman.

"It's about the kunoichi from the sand." Kiba murmured, and got Shikamarus attention right away. His eyes cleared and his senses were high wired.

"She left." Kiba almost shouted out, but Shikamaru took no notice of it.

"Why?" His voice was suddenly clear and every trace of sleep was gone.

"The council blew off her proposal of becoming a Konoha-Suna shinobi, so she refused to stay another day. She asked me to tell you that she would've loved to live with you, but if they could not accept her as she was, she would not have anything to do with Konoha." Kiba said and bowed his head, Shikamaru just stared at him in disbelief. They couldn't be serious. What was the fucking problem.

He jumped out of bed, not noticing the wounds ripping open, and the blood trickling down his boy. Kiba tried to follow him, but the shadow grabbed a hold of him and held him in place.

Shikamaru ran, and he ran like death followed in his footsteps. The few nurses that were working night shifts who saw him was shocked to the core, as the normally careless ninja flew by like his heart had been shattered in a thousand pieces.

His heart was racing as he thought the case over in his mind. If the council couldn't accept her as a double sided shinobi, how could they ever be together? He could move to Suna, but would they accept him as a double sided Shinobi?

He reached Tsunades office and stormed inside, he was just about to shout her skin full, but the office was empty. He stared frantically around the room, not being able to remain calm, so instead of waiting around for morning so he could talk to the Hokage, he ran out the door and all the way out of Konoha, not once looking back. Knowing that his future was just ahead of him.

OOOOOOOOoooooooooOOOOOOO

"Tsunade-sama, it's Shikamaru, he's run away." Shizune came running towards Tsunade when she came walking up the stairs in the Hokage building after her morning walk under the sunrise.

Tsunades steady gaze fell, and for a split second she looked stunned. If there was someone she'd least expect to run away, it must've been the lazy Nara boy. But she knew why he had run away right away though, as she remembered the denial Temari of the sand had received from the council the day before. Tsunade had been so angry with the grumpy old men afterwards that she had refused talking to them all day.

Now she stood unmoving and waiting for the question she knew Shizune would ask sooner or later. And quite right:

"Aren't you going to do something?" The younger woman asked and Tsunade let a small smile grace her features.

"No." She said and started walking towards her office; it was her last day in that room, her last day as Hokage at all. Shizune walked beside her and gave her odd glances.

"If they can't be together here because of the disgusting old men, let's hope they can be happy there." Tsunade murmured and sent her former student a bright smile, very un-Tsunade like.

OOOoooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOO

The coming day, a tense atmosphere covered all of Konoha, as the rumour had spread, and some had seen the posters all around Konoha: Tsunade was quitting, a new Hokage was to be voted for. The villagers would come to the several voting stations around the village, not knowing who the candidates were, and they would have maximum fifteen minutes to decide on a candidate. If they did not want any of them they would just deliver a blank vote, a vote which would be in a category of its own. If there was a majority of blank votes, they would have another try where the villagers would suggest candidates and they would have another go at it.

And Tsunade actually had a feeling that the villagers would not like her candidates, as the grumpy old men in the councils had given her a few chosen ones, which she had to pick three persons from.

She would not have voted for any of them, as many of the candidates were already in the council. They took every chance to try and get the power in Konoha, but Tsunade was smart, she was the Godaime after all. And she knew for sure that the villagers would want another election. As the day went by, and the villagers all voted, many shinobi got a d-class mission to sort the votes. Naruto had insisted on helping, as did Sakura even though she was still weak. Sasuke had to rest another few days until he could start walking again, and Kakashi had been chained to the bed as he tried to run away all the time. He had even gone as far as to seduce a nurse into unlocking the chains and knocking her out. They found him in his apartment.

Tsunade sat and watched the shinobi sort the votes into four different piles, one pile taller than all the other piles. She watched as Naruto paused and gritted his teeth in pain, he bowed his head so that the other shinobis wouldn't see the red tint in his eyes as the Kyuubi took over. He was in so much pain, his arm wouldn't grow at his normal speed, and it would take time for it to get completely well again, still he wanted to help.

Too bad he was still so young, as he would've made a perfect Hokage, but she knew that a Hokage had to have some life experience and the council would no way in hell accept Naruto as Konohas leader and most outstanding protector.

"The votes are counted and read Hokage-sama." Neji said, he bowed to her and held the paper with the result in front of him. Tsunade stared into his pearly eyes before taking the paper and reading it over, a evil smile crept upon her face as she saw just what she wanted to see.

"Listen shinobi of Konoha, spread the word, new candidates will be chosen. The village of Konoha will have two days to choose who they want as the next Hokage. The one person with the majority of votes will be the next Hokage." Tsunades voice boosted throughout the room and the shinobis cheered and ran out of the building, eager to spread the news.

OOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooOOOO

Sakura walked slowly trough the hallways at the hospital, she was still under recovery, but she was free to move around on her own, and now she wanted to pay her chained sensei a little visit. She knocked weakly on the door, in case he was sleeping, but she realised that he probably would be awake when he sensed her chakra. Kakashi always amazed her when it came to skills. He almost never slept soundly, or she had never seen him sleep heavily anyway. Whenever she had regarded his sleeping form on missions, he had opened his eye and stared at her, it always made her blush, feeling stupid and clumsy.

She turned the door handle and went inside. The room was dark and the curtains were closed in front of the window. He was awake, but could not move due to the chains, so only his eye followed her as she walked around the room.

Her gaze graced him now and then, but she had to look away just as fast as her eyes met his black eye. Even when he was chained down and hurt, he looked like a crouching tiger, ready to attack anytime. It frightened her and aroused her at the same time.

It was confusing, these thoughts, her reactions around him. She was so much more aware of him now, she noticed things she never noticed before. How his almost perfectly shaped muscles moved under his skin whenever he fought. She found it hard to concentrate around him as well, but she knew that she had to take that secret with her to the grave. He was her teacher, and he was so much older than her, even though age did not show on him.

She pushed her emotions away, but when she looked at him and tried to start a conversation, the words got stuck in her throat, and she just stood there opening and closing her mouth.

"Hello Kakashi-sensei." She finally said and moved closer to the bed, but Kakashi flinched and his eye flickered.

"Would you mind standing over there?" His voice sounded as if he just had been sleeping, it was deep and masculine, and it sent chills down Sakuras spine. Not understanding the reason, she took a few steps back while staring at her teacher. She didn't want to ask why she couldn't come closer, but most possibly it was a part of his feelings towards hospitals.

"How're you doing?" She asked slowly, not really knowing why she came here at all, and now she just felt awkward.

"I'm perfectly fine, but those devil nurses don't believe me." He muttered and nodded his head in the direction of the door, Sakura sighed at his childishness.

"Let me have a look at you, and let me decide if you're well or not." Sakura snapped, a little too enthusiastically, making Kakashi rise a quizzical eyebrow and she immediately regretted it.

"Just unlock the chains, I'm perfectly fine." He growled lowly and Sakura smiled knowingly at him. She moved up to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We don't have to unlock the chains to examine you." She said with a sweet smile.

"What, are you going to rape me?" He asked sarcastically, but Sakura stopped in mid motion as she was on her way to remove his hospital shirt.

Throwing a quick glance up at his face she shook her head and removed the shirt with ease.

What met her made her head spin and she felt like throwing up, the vision was almost too much for her to bear. Deep wounds were caked in green…something. It looked like the poison Tsunade had sucked out of her own body, though this looked like it was eating from his flesh.

Taking a quick sample of the green squishy thing, she started cleaning up his wounds. Luckily the green slime came off easily, and soon the wounds were clean. But she was still worried that Kakashi had this green slime inside his body, eating him from the inside. It seemed almost like a bacteria.

She let her eyes wander over his toned body, and his muscles chiselled from stone, running her fingertips lightly over one of his stomach muscles, his skin was soft and smooth.

Getting caught up in the moment she let her other hand travel over his well muscles, feeling the softness of his tan skin. She was like in a daze, but when she heard his low cough to get her attention, she snapped her hands away as if she had burned them.

She staggered away from the bed and avoided Kakashis studying look, she gathered her thoughts and suppressed the wild thoughts about Kakashi. Her calm returned to her finally and she smiled half heartedly at Kakashi. He looked disappointed.

Kakashi had wanted to believe that it had been something more than just a medical inspection of his muscles when she so fondly studied the bulks on his stomach, but when he saw her now he understood that it had been just a medical gesture.

Who was he fooling anyway, Sakura saw half naked men all the time working at the hospital, why would she think his body was something special?

Again these thoughts of her invaded his mind in the least appropriate ways. She was his student for crying out loud. It was against his moral.

He wouldn't allow himself to destroy her life by showing that kind of interest in her. Nothing good ever came with loving him, or with him loving anyone. Not that he loved her, it was more like physical attraction, well something like that anyway.

"See I'm fine, now let me go?" He asked impassively and stared at her with cold emotionless eyes. Sakura sighed and nodded.

"I healed your wounds, you can go." She muttered and unlocked the chains keeping him in bed, and in a flash he was gone. Leaving Sakura alone in the room, confused. Why did she suddenly feel so insecure around her teacher, was it because he seemed to have changed so much, and she felt like she didn't know him anymore?

Probably, and she didn't like it.

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Tsunade had many spies, many spies, both ninjas and civilians. And these two days she had good use of them. She was so curious about who the villagers would choose as their next Hokage that she summoned the giant slug and made her disperse into thousands of small slugs, sending them all over the village.

"Let's see who the next Hokage may be."

OOOOOOOOOOooooooooOOOOOOOoo

Boojaaa, I hope you guys liked it, and reviews are always appreciated

Peace out.!


	11. Chapter 11

_I face myself_

_To cross out what I've become_

_Erase myself_

_And let go of what I've done. _

_Linkin Park – what I've done_

I listened to this song of Linkin Park while writing this, and it fitted so well with the text.

Things grow more serious again now, what'll Kakashi do about this ? O.o

**Chapter 11**

OOOOoooooooooooooOOo

The whole village waited in silence when the two days had passed, Tsunade and Shizune walked out from the Hokage building and stood on a stage that had been built for the occasion. Though it wasn't much of a stage really; it was more like several tables placed together.

The villagers and the shinobis were divided, as a normal villager could not become Hokage. The Hokage had to have experience in battle strategies, excellent shinobi skills, a bright mind and good communicable skills, and last but not least, have a mind and a soul of a protector and a leader.

Tsunade stared out over the village and memories from the past years flew past in her mind, she smiled, knowing that the next hokage would take good care of her village for her. The thought of giving away her title almost brought tears to her eyes, sure she had more time to gamble and drink now, but she had felt like…someone. She wasn't just the slug princess anymore, she was needed, and it was a wonderful feeling.

"I actually knew that this election would find place. Now after these years I can finally tell you that I don't think the council serves for the good of this village at all times. For example for the first election, they picked out only people from the council, or persons they could easily manipulate. I wanted nothing of it. I wanted you to unite and choose your own leader. It doesn't matter who it is, as long as this person is someone that you feel is close to you. Not someone you feel you have to reach for, choose rather someone that reaches for you. And I must tell you, I support you on this, I support your choice. You could hardly have chosen anyone more fitted for this job." She smiled and paused, letting her words sink in. She saw the surprised looks on the villagers faces.

"You all shall know that I won't leave you, this is not the end, it's the start. And I hope for all of us, that the next Hokage will make this story worth reading, worth following till the end. Actually, I know he will, I know he will make us put our trust in him. And he will deserve your trust, and he will cherish it. It pleased my heart, seeing you choosing him as your own Hokage. Now I think it is time to reveal who I'm talking about." She scanned the crowd, as if looking for him, but she knew where he stood. She had pointed him out of the crowd at once when she entered the stage.

"Uzumaki Naruto, could you come up here?" She asked, and watched as his face changed from shock to fear to happiness. He jumped up on stage, and the whole crowd fell quiet.

"Uzumaki Naruto, do you accept the burdens following in the shadow of this job, and do you promise to do your best to remain the peace in Konoha?" Tsunade asked and watched Naruto deep in the eye. His eyes were twirling, a mixture of blue and red, they were mixed together. Was this a moment of pure happiness? Tsunade knew his answer long before he answered. He had achieved his one and only dream, he was probably going trough bliss.

"My dream has been, ever since I was five, to become the Hokage. At first it was only because I wanted the people of this village to acknowledge me as a human being, not the monster inside me. And seven years ago, when the third died, I realised that being Hokage was so much more. It was about risking your life for someone else, to live, breathe and think only for the village. I choose then and there, at the thirds funeral, that my dream would not only be a dream anymore, it would be an ambition. Yes, Hokage-sama, I accept the terms of this job, and yes I promise to protect this village until my dying day." Naruto said, the villagers stared at him, something moving in their hearts and they knew that they had chosen the right man.

Shizune came over to Naruto with a white cloak with red flames at the bottom of it. The Hokage cloak. Shizune embraced Naruto with it and gave him a quick hug.

"You look just like your father." She whispered and smiled at him. Tsunade nodded and turned to the crowd.

"Village of Leaf, Konoha, your new Hokage." She said firmly, there was no doubt, Naruto was the new Hokage. And as he watched the villagers happy faces, he knew that he had accomplished his ambition, and that he now had to start his new life.

He turned towards the Hokage monument, Yondaime stared down at him, and if he thought hard enough, he could imagine the fourth smile proudly at his son.

"Father, I will follow in your foot steps."

OOOOOOOOOoooooooOOOOOOOO

"Naruto, congratulations, I knew you would achieve the title one day." Sakura said and hugged the blonde man. She knew how much this meant to him, and she would be there to support him if anything went against him. Sasuke came over as well and smiled vaguely at Naruto.

"Looks like you had me beat dobe. You're the best ninja in Konoha now." Sasuke said, he was still wrapped in bandages and every time they saw him clench his teeth together, Sakura flinched, knowing she had caused him so much pain. The other villagers came up to Naruto and shook his hand, hugged him, patted his shoulder, gave encouraging words and almost brought Naruto to tears in the process. He thanked them all, and didn't notice Sakura and Sasuke moving away from him.

"How does it feel?" Jiraya asked and placed a large hand on his shoulder. Naruto grinned and gave him the thumbs up.

"You know your father would be proud of you, I can almost see his stone face smiling down at you." The older man said and shook the blonde one lightly.

"And by the way, there's a bunch of paperwork waiting for you, which Tsunade-hime left for you over the last few days." He said and grinned.

OOOOOOOooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOoo

Sakura watched her feet intensively as Sasuke and she walked down towards the memorial stone. There was an uncomfortable silence between them, the birds stopped singing when they walked by.

As they crossed the bridge, Sasuke stopped and suddenly took her hands. She felt his rough skin rub against her own soft medical hands. Their eyes met, black against green, and she felt like drowning into him. She wanted to dive into his eyes and just be with him. her old obsession flamed up again, but it wasn't love. It was the obsession of just having the Uchiha, to owe him.

"Sakura, when I was with Orochimaru…all that kept me going was the thought of coming back to you. I knew he would try to take my body, but I had to get stronger, but not because of Itachi, because of you. If I hadn't gotten stronger, Orochimaru may have taken my body, and I could never have come home again." He bowed his head when he saw that Sakura didn't share the same intensity in her eyes as he. Here he stood, offering her his heart, kind of, and all she did was stare at him like he was an alien. The old Sakura would have screamed and thrown herself around his neck, by just the words "all for you".

"Sasuke, if you expected me to stay on my knees for you, for seven years, you were sorely mistaken. You crushed my heart that night, and still I haven't found all the pieces of it, and here you say it was all for me? That is just selfish." She said and turned away and started to walk, but she stopped and bowed her head.

"Now you may feel how I felt all those years I loved you." She murmured and walked away from him, leaving him shocked and scared of what the little cute girl had grown into. Worst of all was that she was right, he had acted selfish. He had destroyed everything the day he left her knocked out on that bench.

Sakura walked slowly trough the forest, and tried to get rid of the pained look on Sasukes face when she said those words. It wasn't as if she felt sorry for him or anything, it was more the fact that he had looked so vulnerable and that she had taken the first chance to hurt him. Te worst part was that, hadn't she been so obsessed on finding her ex-boyfriend to make him pay, she would probably have taken him up on his hidden offer.

After walking for some time, she found a open area in the forest.

"About time I test my new strength." She murmured and summoned up energy into her hands. She could feel the power, it was so overwhelming that she almost didn't dare to release it. The poison Komachi had injected into her was almost a blessing to Sakura. Now there was no doubt that she could beat Rayuu in one hit. All she had to do was to find him.

She jumped up and concentrated harder on the chakra summoned up in her hands, and she saw the blue glow around her hands.

When she released the power, a fragment of a second before her fist hit the ground she already knew what the damage would be.

Rough cliffs and boulders rose around her and made an unbelievable noise. The masses of dirt and rock moved like a snake around her feet and when it all settled the flat area suddenly looked like a rocky landscape. The cliffs were so tall that she couldn't see the trees she knew were on the other side. Sakura had created something unbelievable, she felt so strong now, so powerful. She felt as if she could conquer the world.

"So much power, I wonder if this is what Naruto feel like when Kyuubi takes him over?" She said out loud and looked down on her hands.

"Do you really think so?" A voice asked, she spun around to find the one speaking, but she already knew who it was.

"I don't think that you, even though you're strong, could compare to even a tenth of what Naruto feel when Kyuubi takes him over." Tsunade sat on top of one of the cliffs and stared down at Sakura with her honey brown eyes.

"But you have surpassed me with that venom, in strength that is, but you'll need much practice if you want to control this new power of yours." She said and jumped down to stand in front of Sakura.

"I would believe that trying to get you from using this power for something else than revenge would meet deaf ears?" Tsunade looked away as Sakura nodded.

"You didn't have to answer. I already knew." The ex-Hokage said and sighed.

She sat down on one of the boulders and stared up at the sun and the clouds drifting by.

"Did you know, Shikamaru left Konoha to live with the love of his life?" Tsunade muttered and moved her gaze down to look at Sakuras stunned face.

"No, was it Temari?" Sakura asked and she felt a twist of happiness for the both of them. Tsunade didn't answer, she just watched her student with concern. Sakura was turning into something Tsunade could not keep up with, something terrible.

This strength and power would have to be controlled, like Naruto had been until he could control Kyuubi on his own. She had just received the tests of the venom in Sakuras body and it was not looking good. And with Sakuras previous depressives, and the revenge acts the venom would grow dangerous to Sakuras body. Tsunade needed to enlighten sakura on this, but it was hard to crush her student when she was finally starting to smile again.

"Sakura…" Tsunade started, but cut off when she met Sakuras green sparkling orbs.

"You got the test results right?" Sakura asked and bowed her head.

"You're in danger Sakura, its acting crazy on your cells." Tsunade said frantically, trying to convince Sakura that it was true.

"This venom, the structure of it looks like nothing I've ever seen before. It has interpreted every cell in your body except for your brain cells. If the venom spreads to your brain, you will not be able to think clearly. When Komuchi controlled you, the venom acted on your brain like she wanted it to act. If no one controls it, who knows what'll happen? And as far as I've seen Sakura, this venom is not something good." Tsunade was actually afraid on behalf of her young student and successor, it was a uncomfortable feeling and she wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible.

"This venom will help me regain my pride shishou. I will not do what you're suggesting. I think that removing the venom from every cell in my body would be hard, even for you." Sakura said, and Tsunade knew it was true, but there was another way.

"Stop using your shinobi skills." Tsunade said. Her voice was firm and showed no compassion, she knew what she asked of Sakura. It was impossible for Sakura to stop being something she was as a person. She would have to start a whole new life, get a real job.

"If you stop using your skills, your chakra will not evolve and the venom will be held under control, if you let your temper get away with you under a battle, just once, the venom will take control of your mind and you will be lost to us." Tsunade said seeing that Sakura stayed impassive, she did not intend on following Tsunades advice.

"If I stop using my skills, Tsunade, my life will be ruins, just like my mother and fathers house. If I stop being a shinobi, Tsunade, I won't have anything to wake up in the morning for. Being a shinobi is my life, saving peoples life as a medic is my call, I can't just let that go." Sakura answered and turned away from Tsunade, her back was tense and Tsunade knew she was holding back a stream of tears. Sakura was almost a lost cause in Tsunades eyes, the way she had said Tsunades name without any article was proof of that, the young woman did not think of the old Hokage as her sensei anymore.

"Right now Sakura, this isn't about you, but about the lives of people around you. You think Sasuke is selfish for loving you? Yes I overheard your conversation. His selfishness is nothing compared to your self centred ego Sakura. At least his selfishness doesn't put other peoples' life in danger." Tsunade said angrily, starting to grow tired of the stupid girls' attempts of being smart. If Sakura would not understand the risks she was taking, Tsunade would drag her into jail and lock her up there until she was able to think past her own nose.

Sakuras face turned from anger to shock in just a tenth of a second, and Tsunade saw the despair evident in her students' eyes.

"If you hate me, go on and hate me Sakura, but it's for your own good." Tsunade whispered and reached out a hand. Sakura was aware of what would happen if she took her teachers hand. Her life as a shinobi would be over, as Tsunade would shut of most of her chakra, so that she would only have enough chakra to live a life of a normal villager. The silence lasted on and Sakura felt tears strolling down her cheeks, as she reached out and placed her own hand in Tsunades.

OOOOOOOOOOooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kakashi waited for Sakura when she and Tsunade came back from the forest, he sensed that her chakra was extremely low and wondered what had happened out there between those two women. He jumped of the rail on the bridge and walked towards them in his lazy manner, and sensed right away that something did not add up at all.

"I talked to Naruto about me teaching you how to control your power, he thought it necessary, so we'll start tomorrow." Kakashi said when they were close enough to hear him, Tsunade didn't even offer him a look and just walked on, leaving Sakura by his side. She stared at the ground, while Kakashi patiently awaited an answer.

"There's no need of your help anymore Kakashi." She whispered soundlessly, the weakness in her voice threw him completely off-guard. She lifted her gaze and stared straight into his one black eye.

"I am no longer a shinobi."

OOOOOooooOOOOOO

Long time no see, I'm reeeally busy now that this school year draws to an end with exams and everything, I hope to write more when the summer vacation starts up

Peace out


	12. Chapter 12

I've been veeery inactive, and I apologize that. I've been without internet for three weeks, and been working on this story. I don't want to make it so long that no one bothers to read it to the end. Anyway, I'll post a picture on **Dev art of Sakuras dress**. I'll post the link in the next chapter, because else I would destroy all the suspense XD

Thank you for your patience.

OOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOO

-It's not because you're lovely I love you, but because I love you it makes you even lovelier.

Chapter 12

"What do you mean no longer a shinobi? I thought you wanted to become jounin?" Kakashi asked and grabbed her shoulders in a firm grip, keeping her from running off. He noticed the difference right away, her fragile body was shaking, she wasn't tired from training or fighting, that was not the reason her chakra level was so low. Why Tsunade would have to do something so cruel against her own student was a mystery to him, but he figured it had something to do with the poison.

"My life is over." She murmured and gripped his vest, dragging herself into his chest where she wept her pain and sorrow. Kakashi tensed at first, but placed his arms around her now so fragile body to protect her, he would keep her away from harm, if just for a few minutes.

She didn't make a sound, but cried soundlessly into the rough material of his vest, and he just stood there, embracing her with everything he was. She was probably not aware that for a moment he would let his forbidden feelings for her shine trough and embrace her as if she was his own.

"Sakura come here and sit down." Kakashi led her over to a bench that stood by the path leading to the memorial stone. Sakura sat down with some space between them, her feet placed like a little girls' and her big eyes stared scared at him. He felt bad for her, he wanted to just reach out and stroke her chin, whisper that everything would be alright. But as her teacher, he couldn't, it would be wrong of him.

"You know you can still be a shinobi, Rock Lee's a shinobi isn't he?" Kakashi said and he could clearly see a flicker of hope in her green eyes.

"I could ask Gai to train you?" He asked, but she just shook her head and looked away.

"I will have to live like a normal person Kakashi-sensei." She whispered and twined her fingers. Kakashi sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You have an option Sakura, you always have." He murmured. She stared up at him with sparkling eyes and a tired smile graced her beautiful features.

"I know."

"Naruto throws a party tonight, celebrating his new life, maybe you should as well?" Kakashi asked and leant back, giving her the lazy look. Sakura leant back as well and sighed.

"Will you go with me, you and Tsunade are the only ones who know yet." She said and grabbed a hold of his vest. Kakashis breath caught in his throat and he stared at her, not knowing what to say. He couldn't reject her when she was so broken down.

"Sure." He answered and ruffled her hair.

"You are a good friend, Kakashi." She said and smiled, pushing his hand off her head. He smiled, hearing that she didn't use the sensei with his name anymore. Well if she no longer was a shinobi, he probably no longer counted as her teacher either.

"Oh, I forgot, I'll have to buy a new dress, all my clothes are destroyed by the water damage in my own apartment." She rose from the bench and flashed smile at Kakashi.

"Can I come to your apartment when I'm done buying a dress?" She asked. Kakashi stared dumbfounded at her, but realised that she probably had no other place to stay with the leek in her apartment and her boyfriend gone.

"Sure, just take your time."

OOOOOOOOOoooooooOOOOOOOOOOO

Naruto started his first day as a Hokage with walking around in the village, talking to the villagers, listening to their worries and noting himself mentally that there were so many things to fix.

_**"Kit, don't push yourself too hard, you are still not fully recovered, even though you feel fine." **_

Kyuubi said in his mind, but Naruto just pushed the fox aside.

_"This is something I have to do." _Naruto answered.

_**"Naruto, stop and think, you've been walking around for hours. Go home and rest so you live trough the celebration." **_Kyuubi snapped and Naruto felt his irritation. Naruto agreed grudgingly and took farewell with the old woman he had been speaking to.

He made his way back to his apartment, but bumped into Sasuke on his way there.

His best friend seemed rather depressed.

"Sasuke? Something happened?" Naruto asked, Sasuke looked up and a sarcastic smile crept upon his face.

"She totally blew me off, she wants to pay back all the misery I caused her by leaving." He said. Naruto let the information sink in and understood that the Uchiha was talking about Sakura. He sighed and contacted Kyuubi inside his mind. His eyes turned to red but his pupils stayed the same.

"Kyuubi has something to tell you." Naruto murmured and let Kyuubi take over his voice.

**"Haruno have other problems than you, I suggest you care more about what she feels than what you feel. She's going trough some major changes and probably have no time for a brat like you." **Kyuubi said, and Naruto smiled, knowing that Kyuubi had taken a special liking to Sakura when she healed Narutos' life threatening wound some years earlier. Kyuubi had admitted that he thought her more capable than the other ninjas of Konoha with their dirty tricks.

**"And by the way, if you're totally stupid, it seems like Kakashi has something going on there."** He added before giving the control back to Naruto, who gave Sasuke a look of sympathy. Sasuke just shook his head and walked away.

_**"He's stupid isn't he?" **_Kyuubi asked inside Narutos head, the blonde one shook his head and smiled.

_"Sometimes I wonder about that as well furball." _Naruto answered and kept on his way towards his large and comfy bed.

OOOOOOOOOOooooooooOOOOOooooooo

Hinata hadn't gotten the chance to congratulate her fiancée when he got selected as Hokage, but she fully intended to under the celebration. She sat in her room, looking at her own mirage and smiled. Naruto had probably never seen her so stashed up before. She was dressed in a amazing kimono and a wonderful silver headpiece she had inherited from her grandmother. Her father had given her a new necklace for the event. This was the first time he had showed that he supported her relationship with the Uzumaki boy. She had a feeling that Narutos status as Hokage had something to do with it.

She watched the pearls on her headpiece twinkle as she moved her head and crystals created a wonderful rainbow on the walls.

"He can't avoid noticing me in this." She said and smiled dazzling at her self in the mirror.

"He would be a fool if he didn't notice." A male voice commented from the doorway. Hinata didn't have to turn around to know who he was, she already knew.

"You like it then?" She asked and turned to meet equally pearl white eyes. Neji had also dressed up in the Hyuuga family's traditional yukata. He looked stunning to put it mildly.

"Like it, I love it. You look just like a Hyuuga heiress." He said and took her hands. Hinata blushed and smiled sweetly.

"You're far too kind, Neji-sama." She said and made courtesy.

"No, by delighting me with your presence, Hinata-sama, it is I who should thank you." Neji said and bowed. They stood like that for a few seconds until Hinata sighed and placed a small and on her cousins shoulder.

"Neji, I am thinking of giving away my title as heiress, you deserve it more than I do." She whispered. Neji stared at her with wide eyes until a smile broke his serious façade.

"I knew this would happen Hinata. I have seen the look on your face whenever anyone mentions your title." Neji said bowed his head.

"But if I take the title of heir of the Hyuuga clan, you must face the consequences of your actions, you know that?" Neji asked. Hinata looked away, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, but she wiped them away before they could make their path down her cheeks.

"I am fully aware, Neji." The words came out like a whisper, a gust of wind, and she smiled. Her heart felt lighter, like someone had lifted a ton of her shoulders.

"You are lucky to have Naruto, Hinata. He's a great guy." Neji murmured and smiled again. Hinata nodded.

"He is, he truly is."

OOOOOOOOOooooooooooOOOOOOOOOo

Sakura swung around in her dress and stared at her tired self in the mirror. To have Kakashi so close just an hour ago, had made her heart race up. She had wanted him then, right then and there, she had wanted every aspect of the man she had known as her teacher.

Had he noticed the hunger she had felt then and there?

She bit down on her lip when she realised where her wicked mind was taking her, such thoughts of a man almost twice her age was taboo.

She recalled his surprised look when she asked to come to his apartment. He didn't seem to mind though. That was the most irritating part; he never seemed to mind anything, he wouldn't tell her whenever she crossed the line. He would just stare lazily at her and see what she would do next.

"I think that's the dress, Sakura." Ino said and touched the fabric of the mint green dress Sakura wore. Sakura looked at Ino and smiled.

"Yes, it is." A dress that made her think of Kakashi. These feelings for her teacher hadn't really come as suddenly as she wanted to make herself think. It had been bottled up, on missions, whenever they spoke to each other, like they had some special connection no other had, and that what he said, was only meant for her. She had denied those feelings back then, like whenever he gave her that fathomable look, she would shudder and get this strange sensation of his hands holding her tightly and those eyes, one red one black, staring deeply into her own.

"Sakura? What, or should I say, who are you thinking about?" Ino asked and raised an eyebrow at her. Sakura blushed; she knew she couldn't tell Ino about her "newly" discovered feelings for her teacher.

"Sasuke. He, kind of confessed his "feelings" to me, today." She murmured and stared at her feet, knowing that she would hurt Ino by saying it. Ino stared dumbfounded at Sakura for a few seconds, before her face broke into a wide grin.

"So the two of you are going out now?" She asked and almost jumped up and down from excitement.

"Not exactly, no." Sakura murmured. Ino stared confused at her.

"Then what?"

"I kind of rejected him, wanting him to feel the same way I did." She whispered. Ino laughed, it started with a light giggle and grew to a roar of laughter. In her whole time of knowing Ino, Sakura had never heard her laugh like this; it was a laugh of pure joy.

"You're in love with someone else, aren't you?" Ino asked and nudged Sakura. Sakuras shocked face grew even more shocked, and she realised that Inos statement might even be true, in a morbid kind of way.

"I don't think so." Sakura said and looked away.

"Tell me, who is he? Come on, I won't chatter it away, pinky promise?" Ino pleaded and held up her little finger. Sakura knew that a pinky promise in Inos eyes was a promise which would not be broken, Inos pinky promise laws were strict and only for the ears of those who made the promise, no one else.

"Okay I'll tell you, but you promise? Pinky promise not to tell _anyone_?" Sakura asked, Ino nodded eagerly and the hooked their pinkys together.

"I'll just pay for this dress and then we'll go somewhere quieter." Sakura said and brought the dress to the counter.

It felt like she was seven years old again, sitting on the wall that went all around Konoha, with a large ice-cream and her best friend beside her. Also the feeling of not having any power in her made it feel so. Her chakra level was now that of a normal human being, and she felt depressingly normal in the presence of Ino.

"So tell me, I promise on the pinky promise that I'll never tell anyone unless you want me to." Ino said solemnly and stared deep into Sakuras eyes, and Sakura knew she was serious and told the absolute truth.

"Okay, it has been going on for some time already, these feelings I mean. I have never thought of it as love though, it was more like a tickling sensation whenever I talked to him, or was near him, even when he looked at me across a room or the street. Lately it has grown worse, and I realised that I might have a crush on him." Sakura murmured and stared down at her ice.

"So, who is it?" Ino asked, eager to know.

"Don 't fall of the wall now okay? It's Kakashi." Sakura could never have prepared Ino for the blow she delivered, and she could see the shock written in Inos eyes, her face, and the jaw that now rested on her chest.

"Sakura…" Ino barely managed to say her name, and Sakura weren't sure if it was shock Ino felt on her behalf, if it rather was pity.

"I must tell you that I did envy you when you got Sasuke on your team, but I also envied you because Hatake-san was your teacher, he was way more handsome than Asuma was. And when the years passed by and Naruto grew to be almost hotter than Sasuke, I envied you all the more. But even if you are a gang of beautiful ninja, I know that almost no team in Konoha history has had so many tragedies as you guys. And I prise myself lucky to be on Shika and Choujis team. At least they don't run away or house a hated demon." Ino said and her face showed pure pity. Sakura felt her anger boil inside her, but right away she felt the edge to her anger missing, the knowledge that she could hurt Ino in the worst possible way was no longer there in her head. She slumped back and looked away, tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Still, I'm not sure if I'm happy for you on the behalf of falling in love with Kakashi though; it might just be another tragedy adding to the pile of tragedies in team 7's history. As of what I've heard Kakashi has only been in love with one woman, and that was Rin, his team mate that he killed with his own hands just a few days ago. That's the man Kakashi is, even though he's hot and all, I would not have made any moves on him, knowing this." Ino said and sighed, glancing at Sakura.

"I know, but if I did not see where my feelings for him are heading, I think it would just be even more painful to think that something could have happened between the two of us, and I was too much of a coward to try." Sakura replied worn, which put Ino on an edge.

"You really are in love with him aren't you?" She asked, Sakura hesitated, but gave in to her own feelings and nodded.

"Well if that's the case you shall know that I'm here for you, we kunoichis should stand together." Ino said cheerfully and gave Sakura a crushing hug. Those last words dug into her skin like knives and needles. She felt the lump in her throat, wanting to scream out at Ino what she had done. That she no longer was a kunoichi. Would it matter? Would it affect their almost life long friendship?

Sakura decided to keep it a secret from her friends for as long as possible.

Over the two girls' heads, the sky was darkening and the sun was hid behind dark threatening clouds.

OOOOOOOOOOOooooooooOOOOOOOOOOO

Naruto woke up from his deep slumber in his own apartment, not quite sure what had woke him. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and threw a glance around his room, laughing at himself when he remembered the funny dream he had just dreamt. He had dreamt that he had become hokage.

His naked soles padded into the bathroom, and he was about to turn on the shower when he saw the cloak at the edge of his vision. A white cloak with flames on the bottom. He held his breath steady and gripped the cloak, felt the fabric under his hardy fingertips, and realised that he was no longer dreaming. It was true, he was actually the sixth Hokage. He took a glance at the clock and saw that he still had a few hours before the party, so he jumped out of the window and headed towards the Hokage monument.

Rain made the rooftops slippery, and Naruto slipped many times on his towards his fathers face chiselled in stone, literally speaking.

When he finally stood on top of the monument, watching the village his father had loved so highly, and held so dearly to his heart, and which he had died to save. Suddenly he felt the presence of Kyuubi inside his mind.

"Kyuchiouse kyuubi no jutsu." He said and bit his thumb placing the hand carefully on the ground beside him.

Kyuubi appeared from flames and stood beside Naruto in his original size, barely making place on the plateau over the monument.

He picked Naruto up between his claws and placed him on his head so that Naruto could almost see the lines of the distant desert where Suna lay.

**"See Kit, all of this is your responsibility now. Are you ready for it?" **Kyuubi asked in his rumbling voice and Naruto smiled. The demon lord was actually pretty sentimental and father like when it came to big changes in Narutos life. For instance when Naruto and Hinata engaged, Kyuubi had had a long talk with Naruto about the commitment he had made.

"Positive. With you and Hinata by my side, I'll manage just fine." He said and a large red eye stared up at him, the Kyuubi grinned.

**"Of course, you need my help Kit."** He rumbled.

"Don't get too full of yourself Furball, you're stuck with me." Naruto said and laid down on his stomach on the Kyuubis head, digging his hands into the giant Fox's thick fur.

**"And you with me, Hokage." **

"I'll just have to get used to be called that now, I guess." A rumble sounding like thunder filled the air and Naruto realised that it was the Kyuubi laughing.

**"Strange little Kit." **

Naruto smiled satisfied, and stared down at the beautiful village, with people running around in the streets, not giving a second thought to people around themselves.

Suddenly he saw that people started pointing up at the monument, large eyed, eyes filled with hope and trust. They started walking towards the monument, a crowd gathering. They talked amongst themselves, and pointed at the Kyuubi.

"They're not afraid of you anymore Furball, we've reached our goal, now we just have to keep on going. We will never fail these people." Naruto said and raised his hand to greet the crowd.

**"Fear of something alien should not be forgotten Kit, it's in the nature of mankind, even though you never fear anything. That is the demon blood in you, in stead of fear you react with action and anger. That is what makes you different from them, though I sometimes wish you would feel fear. Still, I am actually pleased that we together have earned these peoples trust." **Kyuubi murmured and stared up at Naruto, waiting silently for some respond. Naruto thought about what the Fox had just told him.

"So you're saying, that these villagers did right in hating me?" He asked.

**"Not hate Kit, fear, fear of the unknown. Of course I did not expect you to fully understand, as you as me, think like a demon with a hint of human. The only thing dividing you and I are our bodies and power. That is why instead of tormenting you, I'm helping you."** Kyuubi explained. Naruto understood, the Fox had told him so many times, but not until now did he understand the meaning.

"Can you tell me, about my parents?" Naruto asked, and he felt the Kyuubi shift underneath him, and the large eyes stared up at him.

**"I you wish me to." **

**"If I'm going to tell about your parents story, I will have to tell a little about myself. I was born from fire, in this country. This was so many centuries ago that this land still had no life or vegetation, fire ruled here. It was not I, as told in many legends, that ruled the fire, but the fire ruled me. I grew up to be the strongest of all demons present at that time, and they all came to me for advice, even Wind and Earth came to me, Water was a pompous bastard too good for my advice, he himself thought anyway. Well anyway, centuries blew past in rapid order, and I've seen people kill each other in wars more often than you've eat ramen. We demons did not bother the humans though, they had their lives, and we had our own. Still I could not help myself in visiting the humans in a human form. I walked trough the streets like any normal person to try and learn something from them, why they always fought each other and how such small creatures could cause so much damage to such a large world. I found not much of interest in my centuries wandering amongst humans though. One day I saw a very beautiful woman, in this country, in Konoha even. She had long blonde hair and green vibrant eyes, much like that Haruno girl's eyes. I could tell that she was not like any other human. It was something about her that reminded me of demon much more than the human side I had come to know. She took contact with me immediately when she saw my eyes on her. We talked and I came to understand that her mother had been a full blood demon and her father a normal human. She told me of her boyfriend, and how he fought the council in Konoha so the two of them could be able to marry. The council and the Hokage even were against this union, as they did not want a half blood demon in their calm village. **

**When she told me that she loved this man higher than her own life, I burned with rage against these humans not letting two fellow humans live together because of her blood. She also said that her boyfriend was a high rank ninja and he wanted to be the next Hokage, but now he not only wanted, his body and mind craved it. Her story made a enormous impression on me, and when I returned a few years later, I met her again, and she recognised me right away. I asked if things had gotten better, and she laughed and said that her boyfriend had become Hokage after all, and that the two of them were expecting a child. Of course I was happy for them, a demon even can feel happiness for someone else. I stayed in Konoha a few months, as I wanted to see her baby, and we grew tight. She trusted me and told me everything. One day she came crying to me and said that she had been kicked out of the village by the council, her husband hadn't been able to do anything about it. I burned with rage, and transformed to my demon self, and started trashing the village. And while I fought those pathetic ninjas, you were born and I was caught inside of you by your father. I haven't seen anything of your mother after that night so many years ago, but I'd very much like to apologise to her. I had not wanted it to turn out the way it did." **Kyuubi fell silent again.Naruto, sat on the fox's head, astonished by the story just thrown at him. He had not thought that his demon blood was so literally spoken. And suddenly something hit him and he stared down at the Kyuubi, and met two blazingly red eyes.

"You loved my mother didn't you?" He asked.

The Kyuubi laughed a rumble which shook the earth.

**"I can honestly tell you that I don't know what love is, but if I felt something for this human girl, it was most likely love, yes." **He said, and Naruto heard the undertone of regret in the Kyuubis voice, it was so transparent that it almost amused Naruto.

"Is there a possibility that…you're my true father?" Naruto asked, and this time he knew for sure that he had shocked the furball.

**"There is no possible way for that to even happen."** Kyuubi snapped.

"But you said that my mother was half demon, how did that happen?" Naruto asked and tilted his head amused to the side.

**"There are many different types of demons Kit, I am a giant fox, and she was a human, so how do you make that happen?"** The fox growled and Naruto understood the problem.

"I'm sorry."

**"You wouldn't know better, stupid Kit." **Naruto fell silent for a few minutes, just admiring the village and the villagers, still staring up at him. And then an idea hit him.

"But what if you were in your human form?"

**"Kit, that human form needs a lot of concentration from my side, I would loose that concentration if…we…you know."** Kyuubi murmured.

"Had sex, made love?" Naruto asked and grinned viciously.

**"Yeah, something ****like that."**

**oooooooooooooooOOOooOOOOOOOO**

Kakashi woke up from a light slumber in his only chair in the apartment, with the newest edition of Icha Icha on his chest. He jolted upright and stared into the room, afraid that she would still be there, the girl he had just dreamt about.

He padded into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of steaming black coffee, and made himself a cup of instant ramen, which made him think of Naruto, or rather, the sixth Hokage.

He picked up the paper and stared at the front page, Konoha Times had given out a extra today, in addition to Narutos election. On the front page was a large picture of Naruto in colours, with his white and red cloak and his jounin clothes underneath it, he held the Hokage hat in his one hand and held up this other hand and formed peace with two fingers in a v-shape. His face was pure happiness. Kakashi stared at Narutos eyes for a few seconds, seeing the tinting of red in them, it was not very visible, but with his sharp eye, Kakashi made out the slight difference in colour. He tossed the paper away, not wanting to see or admit the change in his student. Because if he did, he would have to realize that he was not the teacher Naruto had learnt everything he could do today from, it was the fox, the damn fox that had killed Kakashis' teacher, the one that had acted like a father for Kakashi after his own father killed himself. Yes, Kakashi still held a grudge against the Kyuubi Kitsune, but unlike the other villagers he had known that Naruto was not the one to blame, as Naruto had been Yondaimes dearest child.

A knock on his door brought him back from memories he resented and hated, and he made his way slowly towards the door. He sensed her weak presence and sighed inwardly before opening the door and met her smiling eyes.

"Come in." He murmured and stepped aside to let her slide past him, holding several bags in her hands.

"Are you planning on moving in or something?" He asked playfully. She whipped around and smiled at him.

"I'll be moving in with Ino for a few days until I find myself a new apartment, I've talked to Naruto about it, and he said that he could not let me live in a water damaged apartment. Either I find myself a new apartment, or he'll use some of his clones to fix the old one." She said cheerfully.

"I also…need to find myself a new job." She said and tried to stay cheerful, to keep the tears from falling, he heard her voice crack though, but she stayed strong and kept the smile. He admired her courage, the working world would be so much different from the shinobi working world.

"Have you thought of anything you want to do?" He asked, trying not to trigger any of her built up feelings, as he hated to see her cry just as much as he loved to see her smile.

"Restaurant, I'd like to open up a restaurant, or a café, yes, café." She murmured and stared past him.

"What kind of café?" Kakashi asked, and he saw Sakuras eyes fill with tears.

"A café where normal people and shinobis can meet…" Tears rolled down her cheeks, and Kakashi wanted to comfort her, place his arms around her and tell her everything would turn out okay.

"Listen to me, crying like a baby, I'll get trough this with my head held high." She said forcefully and Kakashi smiled.

"I know you will." Kakashi murmured and met her green sparkling orbs and knew for sure that she would manage anything she set in mind.

"I believe in you Sakura." He said. Just like he had said to Naruto at the most crucial time when Naruto had tried to evolve the rasengan, and had a hard time. Sakuras eyes widened.

"Thank you Kakashi, it means a lot coming from you." He smiled at her and walked into the kitchen, leaving her in the hallway with all her thoughts.

"Are you hungry or something?" He shouted from the kitchen, she said no and he appeared from the kitchen with the instant ramen cup between his hands.

"You can change clothes on my bedroom if you'd like, if I'm not mistaken there's only an hour left until we have to go." He said. Sakura stared at him for a few moments.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" She shouted looking furiously at him. He chuckled.

"Girls always need the time in the bathroom." He answered and walked into the kitchen again, sitting down with the ramen and flipped open his Icha Icha.

Sakura stared after him for a few minutes, knowing that she actually needed the time, but didn't really want Kakashi to be right about "girls" either.

"Tick Tack, tick tack." She heard him murmur from behind his book, and she huffed angrily before stamping into his bedroom to get changed into the lovely mint green dress.

Kakashi could not, for some reason concentrate on the book, however how hard he tried.

_The black dressed alien shinobi stared into her vulnerable eyes, they shone like emeralds, and her long blonde hair flowed down her shoulders like gold. The stranger reached out his hand and touched her porcelain skin; she leant into his touch, hungry for someone to care. Beat up as she was, she could even give into the evil commander. _

_The black clothed shinobi knelt beside her and stared into her innocent face, she did not care that he had just killed her parents, as she obviously was in shock. _

_"Come with me?" He asked with a rough voice and she shivered as she heard him. She nodded vaguely and he picked her up from the ground and walked into the…_

There he lost the thread again, and Kakashi could not remember what he had just read, he started all over again.

_The black dressed alien shinobi stared into her vulnerable eyes, they shone like emeralds, and her long blonde hair flowed down her shoulders like gold. The stranger reached out his hand and touched her porcelain skin; she leant into his touch, hungry for someone to care. Beat up as she was, she could even give into the evil__…_

He huffed and started all over again.

_The black dressed alien shinobi stared into her vulnerable eyes, they shone like emeralds__…_

And he suddenly remembered why he could not concentrate; a certain green eyed girl was changing clothes in the room just beside him. If he listened intently he could even hear the clothes rustling as she stepped out of them, the sound of a plastic bag being opened, the rustling of fabric and a snap as she probably took of some price note. The rustling again, and this time he heard it slide on skin, and he, without realising it, imagined the fabric sliding up her naked thighs, up her porcelain stomach with a cute bellybutton, her perfectly shaped muscles from her constant training, the firm breasts, which were just the right size, and finished by zipping the dress close. He heard her walk into the bathroom, and shutting the door, not hearing anything more after that.

He breathed out, and saw the goose bumps on his arm. These feelings for the so much younger girl were out of control. He couldn't even control himself when she was dressing in another room. With the other women he had slept with, or been involved with, they had to at least be in the same room as him undressing, and they also had to do it in a very inviting manner, he shuddered when thinking about what Sakura might do to him if doing the same. He felt dizzy and stumbled to the sink and pouring himself a glass of water, gulping it down.

"It would never work, you can't do something like that to her…" He muttered under his breath and rested his forehead on the kitchen cabinet over the sink. The glass felt cool and he stood like that for some time, until he got his thoughts somewhat sorted out.

"Ehem, Kakashi?" Her inviting voice sounded in his ears and all the sorting out of his thoughts crashed down on him and he got thrown into a whirlwind of disturbing images of his pink haired student. He turned around slowly, again dizzy.

"Sakura, you're driving me crazy." He said and faced her.

OoooooooOOOOOOOOOOOooooo

Oh my god, we have Narutos mom, and Kakashi going crazy over Sakura…. Ino's kind of smart as well, I keep on surprising myself!

Will you have some mushy stuff in the next chapter? I don't know, stay with me to find out. ..

Muahhah


	13. Chapter 13

I was supposed to post this ages ago, but i forgot. sorry sorry :)

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Show me how it's like, to dream in black and white - Breaking Benjamin, unknown soldier

Chapter 13

It wasn't hard for Hinata to figure out the person on top of the demon foxs' head, and she knew that she would never come in the front of the line for Naruto. Kyuubi had always been in the front, and always would be. No one knew Naruto better than the fox. Hinata did not feel envious of the fox, she was only glad that Naruto had someone who could remind him of a father.

She stared at herself one more time in the mirror, and had to admit that she was cute, maybe not as beautiful as Ino or as pretty as Sakura, but she had some pretty features. Her body had also evolved and grown, and she had curves in all those right places, something Naruto was so obviously drawn to. She smiled by the memory when he had first made love to her, it was her first time, and most probably his too. He had made it so special, with candles, dinner and soft music. It had been perfect, and she would always remember it.

She looked outside, and saw several people dressed nicely in gowns and suits, walking towards one destination, the Hokage monument.

Hinata took one last look at herself in the mirror, making sure that the make up was right and that the kimono sat properly.

"Neji-sama, are you ready to go?" She asked outside his door, and he opened the door, nodding and held out his hand for her to link into with her own arm.

"Let's go."

OOOOOOOOoooooooOOOOOOOOoo

"What did you say?" Sakura asked, she didn't understand, how she drove him crazy, she hadn't done anything. He seemed unwell and supported himself against the sink.

"Kakashi are you okay?" She asked and took a step forward; he seemed like a trapped crazy dog, so she stopped.

"I can't be near you Sakura, please leave." He whispered hoarsely. Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing, just a few minutes ago he had been so friendly towards her, and now he was asking her to leave?

"I don't understand…" She started, but he cut her off.

"Good, you shouldn't, it would only hurt you." He growled and looked everywhere but at her.

"Kakashi, what is this about, tell me?" She said, becoming scared now, he seemed like he could attack her at any minute, and it was the first time she had ever been scared of Kakashi hurting her.

"I thought you were my friend?" She said, and felt tears welling up in her eyes, and she was oblivious to the makeup being smudged. Kakashi snapped his eyes up to meet hers, and it seemed like he was hurting.

"Yeah, that's the problem." He growled.

"What do you mean, I can't make anything out of this." Sakura asked bewildered, she had never been witness to him acting this way. He had lost his cool, and seemed to have a nervous breakdown.

"Just the way you smile, you laugh, you move, you look at me, the way you throw a kunai, how you put up that concentrated look when healing another human being; I'm ashamed that it affects me in such a way. And the worst thing is that you're not even trying." He rambled and Sakura wondered if he was saying what she thought he was saying. She dared not to hope, it could all be for nothing, that the death of his old team-mate had affected him so much that it sent him over the edge.

"Could you put it another way, I mean, so it'll be easier for me to understand." She asked calmly, keeping her own feelings under control.

"I think that…" And suddenly Anko came crashing into the apartment, looking confused by the look of Sakura and Kakashi in the same apartment, but she seemed to shake it off. And ran into Kakashis bedroom, trashing around in his closet, and dug out Kakashis black trousers, and a black shirt. She threw the clothes at him.

"Get dressed you scamper, you're not going to be late for your own students Hokage party." She said angrily and kicked him towards the bathroom door. Kakashi stumbled inside and closed the door with his foot.

Sakura sighed and slumped down on one of the kitchen chairs. Anko stood outside the bathroom door with her hands on her hips, glaring at the door.

"What are you doing in Kakashis apartment?" She asked, while still staring at the door.

"I changed my clothes here, my own apartment is water damaged." Sakura answered, staring out the window, kind of irritated at the brutal woman for cutting off Kakashi.

"Why didn't you go to one of your friends' house instead?" Anko asked and threw a quick glance over one shoulder.

"Because I'm going to the party together with Kakashi-sensei." Sakura answered, feeling uneasy with all the questioning.

"Are you fucking him?" She asked suddenly, Sakuras eyes widened in shock. Anko seemed jealous.

"No, we're just friends; he's my teacher after all." Sakura said.

"If you say so." Anko muttered and didn't ask anymore.

An awkward silence fell between the two women in the room, and Sakura could almost touch the tension. When Kakashi came out from the bathroom, he froze and looked from Sakura to Anko and back again.

"What's going on?" He asked, back to his cool self, and Sakuras heart skipped a beat when he placed his lazy gaze on her. His gaze was full of hunger, but she figured it might as well be her imagination.

"No matter how many times you fuck him, he'll grow tired of you eventually, you can ask any woman in Konoha." Anko said before storming out of the apartment. Sakura stared wide eyed after her. She felt his stare in the back of her head and turned towards him, he was smiling.

"You look beautiful." He murmured and held out his arm. Sakura blushed and linked arms with him.

"And you look very handsome." She said and smiled. Her mint green dress reached her knees with a split up to her mid thigh. The dress was made in this silk and showed almost every curve of her body. It was lined with black lace, and a large emerald on the hip. It was strapless and showed off her muscular but slim shoulders and her beautiful long neck. Between her breasts rested another emerald in a silver pendant. Her makeup was natural to show off her green eyes, and her hair made into a beautiful, but still simple up do.

Kakashi had black needle striped trousers and a black shirt which he had hanging over his pants, making him look really relaxed. The top buttons on his shirt were open, and he had switched the headband with an eye patch, the black mask had also been switched with a black mask in a finer fabric. His silver hair hung down and framed his face while still defying gravity on top of his head. He was a very hot scamper, Sakura thought and smiled up at him when he met her admiring look.

OOOOOOOooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOo

**"Your fiancée has arrived Kit."** Kyuubi said and Naruto sought Hinata out in the crowd, and when he spotted her he almost fell off the furballs head.

"Wow, have you ever seen such beauty?" Naruto asked the Kyuubi and stared wide eyed at Hinata.

**"I have, but she is very beautiful."** Kyuubi answered and nudged Naruto with his ear.

"Go and greet your people Kit." Kyuubi said, Naruto nodded and jumped off the monument and landed like a cat in front of whole of Konoha.

"I thank you for coming tonight, it means a lot. As, I think, you all know, I am the sixth Hokage. My protector, you may see up there." Naruto pointed up at the giant fox, people nodded and greeted the Kyuubi with respect. Naruto read fear in the faces of some of them, but he would change that.

"You all know about the Kyuubi, and you have hated him, and I do not ask of you to forgive what he have done, and I myself don't think that he did it of entirely the right reasons, but I am glad that he was captured inside of me, as he has grown to be a second father. And now, all I ask of you is to not fear him, he is not able to do you any harm, and I swear on my heart and title as Hokage, that he has no intention of hurting any of you." Naruto said and smiled reassuringly to the children who stared at the demon in awe.

"Well, I have not gathered all of you here so I can talk the night away, but I just wanted to inform you about Kyuubi Kitsune and his purpose of being here, as I want all of my friends and family to be present, though still one person is missing. Let's party!" He yelled and popped the cork out of a champagne bottle, and filled up several glasses with the sparkling drink.

Naruto smiled by the sight of the whole of Konoha having fun, he set out to find Hinata.

"Great speech Naruto." Tenten came up to him and said, giving him a quick hug, before Lee came and dragged her onto the dance floor. Naruto smiled and continued walking trough the crowd, bumping into a gang of senior jounin, including Kurenai, Ibiki, Anko and Iruka. They smiled and greeted him respectably.

"Beautiful speech Naruto." Anko said and winked at him, this scared the new Hokage somewhat and he smiled and thanked them before backing into the crowd again.

"If everyone had understood half of that speech Naruto, they would all have been crying." A womans voice said in his ear, and he spun around to meet honey brown eyes. Tsunade smiled up at him with tears in her eyes.

"Kyuubi finally told you the story of your parents didn't he?" She asked and smiled sadly, Naruto nodded.

"He did."

"I knew your mother, I was the midwife under your birth. She told me of the Kyuubi Naruto, and why he did what he did. I agree with you, he had no reason to trash the whole city, but he did it from love didn't he? That's reason enough, no matter what the outcome." Tsunade said and hugged Naruto.

"Did you know my mother? How was she like?" Naruto asked.

"She was the kindest creature I have ever known. She was the total opposite of your father in behaviour. She was silent and calm, while he was more like the younger version of you, I see more of her in you now than I did before. She was stronger than your father in the term of power, but your father knew more strong techniques than her. There's so much more to tell you, I'll come by your office tomorrow and tell you more." Tsunade said and nodded towards something behind Naruto. He turned around and there stood the most beautiful person in the whole world, from her black hair to her silver eyes, to her tan skin from training under the sun. Everything about her was perfect, and she just seemed to become even more beautiful every day that went past.

"You look, perfect." He murmured and walked towards her. She smiled and reached out her hands which he walked straight into. They met in a kiss filled with passion and love.

"So do you, dearest." She whispered and smiled into the kiss.

Everyone around had to stop what they were doing to look at the most perfect couple they could ever come over. Small "aaw's" could be heard from several women, before they grabbed a hold in the nearest man and dragged him off towards the dance floor.

Hinata and Naruto also walked to the dance floor, and just as they put their foot inside the circle, the music switched onto a slower song. Sasuke had asked Ino to dance with him, which she had gladly accepted. Lee and Tenten were dancing, but obviously just as friends. What were more shocking were Tsunade and Jiraya dancing, but Tsunade slapped away his challenging hands.

OOOOOOOooooooOOOOOoo

They arrived at the monument, and the first thing Kakashi noticed was the Kyuubi on top of the monument, he seemed to be only watching with half closed eyes and his nine tails hugged around him. Sakura waved at the fox, and he lifted his head as to greet her.

"It feels strange, to be here, amongst shinobi and normal villagers, and know that I am only a normal villager, not a protector of Konoha anymore." Sakura said and stared at the mass of people.

"You can see so clearly who are shinobi and who are not." She whispered silently and grabbed a hold of his black shirt to keep her balanced. Kakashi looked sympathetically down at her.

"It'll be alright, I'll be here until you feel safer." He said and squeezed her shoulder, and let his hand linger a little longer than he was supposed to, but Sakura didn't seem to notice.

"Thank you Kakashi, I'm glad." She said and walked towards the crowd, still holding his shirt in a firm grip.

"Sakura, Kakashi, I was afraid you wouldn't show up at all." Naruto said and came towards them with arms wide open. He embraced them both in a crushing hug.

"Oh, by the way Sakura, Kyuubi wants to talk to you about something." Naruto said and looked at her, measuring her, as if knowing something was wrong. Kakashi gave her a quick glance as if asking if it was okay.

"I will always have time for the lord of demons." She said and followed Naruto. Leaving Kakashi alone, and when he thought he could sneak away until Sakura came back, he was fatally wrong. Because there stood Anko in all her glory, she grabbed his arm and dragged him to the dance floor.

OOOOooooooooooOOOOOOOOO

Sakura walked alongside Naruto up the path which led to the plateau over the monument. He kept throwing glances at her occasionally, and she knew that he knew.

"What will you do now?" He suddenly asked, and Sakuras fear was confirmed, he knew.

"I don't know, I will have to get a real job, I guess." She said and sighed.

"I will help you anyway I can you know." He said, and she knew that.

"Thank you Naruto, it means a lot to me." She whispered, and they walked the rest of the way in silence.

When she stood in front of the large fox, he opened his eyes wide, and his tails started swirling around him. He lay on the side like a dog and he seemed much friendlier than what they had illustrated in the history books. His eyes were not as terrifying either, they were blazingly red, but she was not scared.

**"Be gone Naruto, I'll need to be alone with Haruno Sakura." **Kyuubi rumbled and Naruto puffed air before he jumped easily down from the monument.

Sakura felt really small when the fox inspected her with his large eyes, and she could feel his hot breath on her.

**"I want you to take a walk with me."** He said and rose; he was even more royal when she saw him like that, his proud head held high, but suddenly fire consumed him and for a few seconds she didn't see him, until the flames died down and left stood a beautiful man dressed in a red kimono. His hair was red, long and wild, and his eyes were still blazingly red. He was tall and slender and his face was that of a god's.

_"I know what has happened to you."_ He started, while walking towards the forest, casting a glance back at her, as if telling her to follow.

_"And I know it was necessary, but I respect you for your strength and skills. You as one of the few shinobis in Konoha that I DO respect, should not have your powers stolen from you in such a manner."_ He said, his voice smooth as silk and Sakura could not help herself staring at his perfect lips forming the encouraging words.

"Sakura, you remind me of, someone… Your eyes are the colour which I dreamt of for so many years after the night I attacked Konoha." He stopped and stared at her, they were standing under the trees, hid in the shadow, and she saw his eyes glowing.

"I can make you whole again." He murmured and cupped her cheek lovingly. Sakura drew a sharp breath, but did not back away. He was far too enchanting to draw away from.

"I can make you feel worthy of your name again." He whispered and drew closer to her, sneaking his other hand around her waist and her body felt limp in his arms.

"I can fill the emptiness in your heart." He breathed in her ear and drew her to him with strong arms. She couldn't react. She wanted to ask him what he wanted with her, but had not the power to do so. She felt her life-force being drawn out of her, along with her little remaining chakra. The world around them disappeared into a black nothing and all she saw was his beautiful face. He drew closer to her, and placed a feather light kiss on her lips. She felt like melting, but his strong hands held her in place, not allowing her to falter. Suddenly he ripped away from her, and she could focus clearly again. She saw a yellow flash throw the human form of Kyuubi trough the air and into a tree, but he just rose up again, brushed himself off, just to be thrown into another harmless tree.

"You said you were going to help her!" She heard Narutos voice yell, and a series of combos were delivered to Kyuubis gut before sending him crashing towards the ground.

"And what do I see? You were going to steal her last powers away?!" He yelled and punched the Kyuubi once more, before stepping back. His eyes almost black from rage. He held out both his hands to each side and Sakura saw the chakra spinning in both palms, rasengan, and then he added wind chakra. Kyuubis eyes widened in shock and fear.

"Naruto, no! You'll die!" He yelled and tried to get up, but hands shoot up from the ground, holding even the almighty Kyuubi in check.

Kyuubi turned his head to Sakura and stared at her with scared eyes.

"He'll die Sakura, stop him!" He yelled and looked desperately at her. Sakura snapped out of her shock and ran towards Naruto.

"Naruto, stop it!" It was not Sakuras voice shouting the command. She stopped dead in her tracks as if the command was directed at herself. Naruto froze and the chakra spinning around his hands died down until all that was left were his bloody skinless hands. He stared down at his hands, oblivious to the pain.

Hinata came walking towards him with long steps and a fierce look on her face, and when she stopped in front of Naruto, she slapped him hard across the face. So hard that a red mark from her hand showed afterwards.

"You stupid man! Are you planning on dying on me when I finally have you loving me? I won't have anything of it, and now that you've reached your dream you think it's okay to die from the responsibility following? I should have beat you so hard that all you can remember afterwards is your own name!" She yelled at him, Naruto just stared blankly at her for a few moments before his head fell and sobbing could be heard from him.

"I'm so sorry Hinata, I just, he, Sakura was in danger and…" A low mumble. Kyuubi snorted angrily.

"You idiot, she was never in danger, I was going to give her the chakra back. Moron, didn't I just tell you that I could manage to help her?" He disappeared in a fire and was gone. Sakura stared wide eyed at the spot where he had just been standing. It only just sunk in what he had said, and she realised that he might not do it now.

"Naruto, tell him to come back, tell him, Naruto!" She cried and desperately ran around, seeing if the fox still was somewhere close. Naruto sighed and slumped down on the ground holding his bloody hands in front of himself.

"I can't make contact with him, he won't talk to me. I'm so sorry Sakura." He whispered depressed.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Sakura stood staring at the blonde man, she didn't really know what to think of the situation, it was all so surreal. Kyuubi had offered her old life back, but Naruto had destroyed her only opportunity of ever being a kunoichi again. Tears clouded her vision as the depressing truth reached into her like a gut clenching iron hand. It was like Tsunade had closed off her chakra reserves all over again, and it hurt her like she had never hurt before.

Naruto desperately tried to apologise to her, but she heard none off his panic stricken rants, they were just words, they did not mean anything. Nothing meant anything anymore. It was like after Tsunade had stolen away her life, she hadn't truly realised what had actually happened, but now, losing the only thing she knew all over again was like stabbing her in the back and then twisting the knife afterwards.

Sakura did not notice Hinata coming over to her before she stood right in front of her, one hand on each shoulder.

"How about I take you home Sakura?" Hinata asked softly, friendly, and the tears welling up in Sakuras eyes spilled over and ran down her cheeks.

"I ha-have n-no ho-home." She managed to say between gulps of air. Hinata furrowed her brows quizzically and glanced over her shoulder at Naruto.

"Her apartment is water damaged." Naruto said. "I think she stays at Kakashis' place." He said. At that Hinata raised her brows surprised, but turned back to Sakura.

"Shall I take you back to Kakashis place?" She asked and stared deep into Sakuras clouded eyes. Sakura didn't answer, but nodded meekly after some time. Hinata nodded and put one hand around the pink haired girls' shoulders and lead her down the path from the top of the monument. Naruto stayed behind, looking grudgingly at the damaged trees he had sent Kyuubi smashing into. It had not been the way to repay Kyuubis signs of trust earlier that day, when he told Naruto all about his life. He reached inside himself again, walking trough the catacombs, knowing which turns to make now, he quickly found Kyuubis cage. He stared up at the large gate, seeing only the outline of Kyuubi in the far corner. The fox was angry, very angry in fact, her refused to even look at his vessel, and Naruto had never seen the Kyuubi so disappointed in him.

Naruto walked towards the metal bars, almost going inside, when a low growl escaped the fox and he froze mid-step.

**"If you enter now Kit, I can not ensure you your safety." **Kyuubi murmured and glanced over his shoulder, his red eye lighting up the cell. Naruto only huffed at the remark and walked inside the cage.

**"Oh so you do trust me enough to come inside my cage?" **The Kyuubi asked amused and turned to face Naruto in a challenging manner. Naruto straightened his back.

"It did look like you were taking her soul Kyuubi Kitsune, and you know you should have informed me of _how _you were going to help Sakura." Naruto said defiantly and Kyuubi sighed.

**"Maybe you are right, but your problem isn't that you're so damn protective, it is that you have this habit of not asking before charging."** Kyuubi murmured and placed one paw on each side of Naruto. Narutos shoulder slumped and a sad look dominated his features.

**"I heard her pleas…it…hurt. I am not supposed to feel these kind of things, but I do, it may have something to do about Harunos resemblance in your mother. Her eyes." **Kyuubi said after a few moments silence. Naruto lifted his head and stared straight into his red eyes. The fox turned his head away, avoiding Narutos stare. He knew what came next, and he hated the fact that his answer had to be negative.

"Can you help her?" Naruto asked silently, and oh how the Kyuubi hated to be right.

**"Tonight was a special night Naruto, it was the day of my birth. On demons' birthday, their power increases to the double and they can do incredible things, things you can't even imagine. So when you screwed up tonight, you screwed up Sakuras life." **Kyuubi said tiredly, still avoiding the young mans gaze.

"But you can do it again next year, right?" Naruto asked hopefully, his eyes shining in the dark; tears clouded his vision, knowing that he could have destroyed Sakuras only chance.

**"My next day of birth is in 12 years Naruto."** Kyuubi murmured and rose up. Naruto did not notice that the giant fox drew back into the dark corner of his cage, all he saw was Sakuras devastated look and her trembling lip as she tried her hardest to keep the tears at bay.

Naruto drew out of the cage and went back to reality.

He fell down on his knees on top of the Hokage monument, all power leaving him.

"Sakura-chan, forgive me."

OOOOOOoooooooooooooOOOOOOOO

Kakashi broke free of Ankos death grip as he saw Sakura coming down the path together with Hinata. Sasuke had also seen her, but he had obviously seen something more than Kakashi had, as he ran up the path to meet the two women. Kakashi saw Hinata letting go of Sakura, and she practically fell into Sasukes hands. He supported her and lifted her into his arms and carried her carefully down the path.

Kakashi approached the two of them, seeing Sasukes sharingan glowing like two rubies in the dusk.

Sakura seemed unconscious, as her body was limp. Dried up tears streaked her pale face, and her pink hair hung tiredly around her face. Sasuke glared at Kakashi.

"What has happened to her…_sensei_." He put emphasis to the last word and glared at his earlier teacher. Kakashi glanced carelessly at him and tucked his hands deep into his pockets.

"I can't possibly understand what you're talking about." Kakashi said. Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Her chakra reserves are closed, she has no more chakra in her body than a normal human, she's not a shinobi no more, is she?" Sasuke asked lowly, his eyes glinting evilly. Kakashi sighed tiredly and shook his head in defeat.

"She didn't want anyone to know until she felt ready herself." Kakashi muttered and took one step closer towards Sakura. Wondering what had happened to her up on the monument.

"I can take her now, she's staying at my apartment until her own apartment is fixed." Kakashi said and stared anticipating at Sasuke. The Uchiha glared fircely back at the copy cat, refusing to let go of Sakura.

"Why?" Sasuke asked. Kakashi stared silently at the black haired one.

"Why what?" He asked.

"Why your apartment, my mansion is just as good." He said. Kakashi sighed.

"All her clothes are in my apartment."

"I have spares, my mothers clothes."

"You want to make Sakura wear your mothers clothes?"

"What's wrong with that?" Sasuke was reaching his edge faster than Kakashi had ever expected from the younger man.

"Nothing."

" Hey, there's obviously something when you reply like that." Sasuke fumed.

"Why won't you just let me take her to my apartment so she can rest?" Kakashi asked, also he getting irritated with the younger man. Sasuke glared at his older teacher.

"What is she to you?" Sasuke asked. That caught Kakashi off guard, and irritation showed clearly on his usually calm face. Now other people had come to see what was going on, the whole rookie nine had arrived, missing Naruto, Tsunade stared at the two of them, Shizune stood in the back, almost all the jounin had gathered around and the new chuunins had met up.

"She is my student, whom I try to protect." He said and glared at Sasuke. The Uchiha just snorted at that though.

"You don't think I've seen the two of you together, you act like lovers." Sasuke growled. He was getting really personal now, and now it was Kakashis time to snort.

"She's twelve years younger than me, how could I possibly…" He let the sentence hang, and looked up to see Naruto walking down the path, his head held high, his forehead protector hanging loosely in his hand. His yellow hair hung down into his face with longer bangs on the sides and it defied gravity by standing into all directions. His long white cloak whipped behind him as the wind had picked up speed while Sasuke and Kakashi had argued. Kakashi couldn't help thinking that it had something to do with Narutos wind chakra. His eyes were a dark blue, and now more than anytime did he resemble his father.

Kakashi bowed his head in respect to the Hokage, but Sasuke obviously hadn't realised that everyone now stared at the Uzumaki. He sneered.

"Oh I wouldn't know when it comes to you Kakashi, Sakura wouldn't know better, but I bet you're taking advantage of her." Sasuke spat venomously. Kakashi sighed and took a step back and glanced up at Naruto. He was angry, Kakashi could telly by the glow in his eyes, no not Kyuubi, but the glow which he had inherited from his father. Kakashi had seen that same glow when his friend Obito had died.

Blue chakra swirled around the Hokage, and his fierce eyes pierced Sasuke with fury.

"Let her go Sasuke." He said calmly, but behind those few words, promises of pain were hidden if they were not obeyed. Sasuke froze for a second before he turned to face Naruto, and a wicked grin turned his handsome facial features into that of a grotesque monster.

"Oh isn't it the great Uzumaki? What're you going to do if I don't want to, huh? Hiss at me?" Sasuke asked sarcastically and grinned wider. Naruto kept calm, but Kakashi saw him raise his hand and pointed a finger at Sasuke.

"Oh, you're going to point at me?" Sasuke asked and laughed. He was mad, Kakashi thought, he had gone mad with grief after Sakura turned him down. Well, he probably never had been quite sane anyway, going after Orochimaru. His loss of his entire clan probably had affected him more than he wanted to show.

Kakashi looked up at Naruto, seeing if he was doing what he thought he was doing. And quite right, roots shoot up from the ground and bound Sasuke in an instant, he hadn't even noticed until he was captured.

Sasuke stared wide eyed at Naruto.

"What? Never heard of earth chakra before?" Naruto asked mockingly. Sasuke shook his head frustrated.

"I thought you said you had just learned to control wind chakra? How…" The wicked grin had been wiped off his face, and left was a scared young man, with the love of his life limp in his arms, bound to the ground.

"I found this tiny connection… Wind and earth chakra patterns are not so different. And as I was training wind chakra with Kakashi, Kyuubi taught me earth chakra at night, he told me it had something to do with my mothers' blood that I could use earth chakra. I didn't understand then, but I do now." He paused. And that famous Uzumaki smile spread across his face.

"My grand mother, was a earth demon, a banshee." He said, easily, as if it didn't really matter.

Sasukes mouth fell open.

"But that doesn't matter, what matters is that you will let go of Sakura and let Kakashi take her home." He said. Sasuke nodded and let Kakashi take Sakura out of his arms.

Naruto sighed and looked sympathetically at Sasuke, but did not release him from his earthly chains.

"What's going to happen to me now?" Sasuke asked, avoiding Narutos deep blue gaze.

"What do you think yourself? What you just showed, even though you did not use violence, shows that you are unstable." Naruto murmured. Sasuke lowered his head and closed his eyes.

"I think I need help. Help me?" He pleaded; Naruto closed his eyes and turned his face away, agony showing in his every move.

"ANBU, take him away." Naruto ordered, and met Sasukes desperate eyes, and a sad smile showed as he mouthed a "thank you".

"Tsunade baa-chan? Could you follow Sasuke to a closed cell and see what you can do?" Tsunade hesitated, glancing at Naruto, unsure of what to think of this decision. Naruto smiled sadly and turned away breaking his eye contact with the late Hokage.

Kakashi waited until Naruto turned to him, with Sakura carefully cradled in his arms.

"I know you'll take good care of her Kakashi, she really deserves it after everything she's been trough." Naruto murmured and placed his hand on Sakuras head and smiled.

"I am sorry Sakura, I truly am." He whispered and waved his hand at Kakashi, signalling for him to leave. Kakashi sighed tiredly again.

"Naruto, whatever happened up there, I doubt it's your fault alone, so don't beat yourself up over it." He said and left in a cloud of leafs. Narutos eyes widened, but he could not reply before Kakashi had disappeared. He straightened his back and stared at the crowd. He forced out a smile.

"Why aren't anyone dancing? The party's not over yet." He said, and the music once again started, people walked back to the dance floor and soon everyone had pushed the unpleasant event into the back of their minds.

OOOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOOO

Kakashi placed Sakura in his own bed, looking down at her, he could not understand what had made her unconscious, so he came up with a theory. Whatever Kyuubi had told her, had shaken her already shaken feelings and she had had a breakdown. He was quite pleased with himself, knowing that it had something to do with breakdown, or maybe she had fainted? Oh he wasn't really all that sure, but she was not hurt, physically at least. He psychical wounds were getting many, too many for a nineteen year old girl to have. She moaned and turned from one side to another, bringing him back from his quite depressing thoughts.

He dragged a hand trough his dirty hair, and thought that he would have to shower as soon as he had made sure that Sakura was okay.

She moaned again and opened her eyes to slits, Kakashi kneeled at the side of the bed and greeted her with a smile, well it was hidden under the mask though.

"Kakashi?" She whispered and her hand reached out to touch his face, he shuddered when her cold hand stroked his cheek, even trough the mask he could feel her chill fingers.

"You're safe, you're in my apartment." He murmured, Sakura smiled.

"My saviour, I am glad that I am here." She whispered weakly, Kakashi got a warm feeling inside his chest, but did not realise that it was because of his students' words. What did those words mean anyway?

"Will you, stay here?" She asked even lower, and Kakashi had to concentrate to hear her.

"I am here whenever you need me." He whispered back and ruffled her hair lovingly. A tired smile spread on her face as she drifted off to sleep.

His hand untangled from her pink hair as he rose from the side of the bed and he made his way towards the bathroom. He stripped out of his clothes, turned on the shower and stepped right into the icy water before it heated up.

After the shower he felt remarkably refreshed, and with clean hair, clean sweat pants and a t shirt, he went back into his bedroom, glancing at Sakura, before he lay down on the miniature sofa he had placed there. It was terribly uncomfortable to lie in such a cramped position, but he would be too worried about the pink haired teen if he lay in another room to even get any sleep.

So after some time and counting a LOT of sheep, he finally drifted off to sleep.

OOOOOOOooooOOOOOOOO

Sakura woke up to a smell she had come to enjoy over the last few weeks, more than any scent she had ever enjoyed before. A male's scent, it lingered playfully in her nose thrills before fading away. She dug her nose into the pillow and drew in a deep breath. A faint sigh escaped her lips as the smell once again made her dizzy. Not wanting the tingling sensation she got from this smell to disappear, she hesitated before opening her eyes, afraid that the smell would go away. Trough slits she could see a bright room, curtains blowing lightly in a slow breeze which came in trough the open window. A small table with two picture frames on it, each frame containing a picture of a shinobi team. Her eyes wandered towards the couch where she knew her teacher would be sleeping.

His silvery hair fell in bangs into his face, making him look childish, but the scar over his eyes and the mask told otherwise. He was a man of experience, not a naïve young boy. How could she ever have thought otherwise? She almost burst out laughing when thinking back to the day before, when he had been interrupted by Anko, Sakura had been naïve enough to let herself hope that maybe he had the same feelings for her. Because Sakura could no longer lie to herself about these feelings she had evolved for her teacher, and it was wrong, it was oh so wrong. But Kakashi was the only man, the only one who had not left her to get stronger, the only one to actually greet her with respect, and even if it was a short flash of a smile, it still was a greeting. She could trust him; she would even put her own life in his hands. He would've been the perfect man for her, especially now, in her weakened state.

Drowsily she sat up, drawing the sheets carefully around her body, and even though she still had her dress on, it was a chill from inside her heart that made her shiver. Her eyes found Kakashis sleeping form again, and she admired his calm face, even in such an uncomfortable position.

Tears trickled down her face as she remembered yesterday's intrigues, and how she somehow was glad that Naruto had come when he did, as she didn't really trust Kyuubi with her life, even though he had saved her life several times on missions. Still, a bitter taste filled her mouth when she wondered how strong she would've been today if Kyuubi had helped her.

Could she maybe, have gone after her ex boyfriend, killed him like a cockroach and scrammed afterwards? She shivered by the thought.

"What's wrong?" A deep voice suddenly asked, and she realised that Kakashi was staring at her, and she'd been staring at him for a very long time. Red faced she turned her head away.

"Nothing." She almost shrieked and he raised an eyebrow at her sudden outburst.

"You're crying." He muttered. Sakuras eyes widened and hurriedly dried away the salty tears. Kakashi rose up from the couch with a pained expression and he stretched like a cat and a meow like yawn erupted from him. Sakura giggled, forgetting her misery for a moment.

"What?" He asked groggily.

"You're just like a cat aren't you?" She asked and smiled. He sent her a fleeting smile before tossing into the kitchen. Sakura also rose from the bed and felt the cold floor under her feet.

She padded over the floor, over to where her regular clothes lay, picking them up and heading into the bathroom.

OOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOOOO

Kakashi looked up from behind the newspaper as she walked into the kitchen, he had made toast and eggs for her. She lightened up at the sight of food and sat down on the opposite side of the table. He smiled and went back to reading his newspaper, hearing her eat quite silently, he heard her pause, before placing the knife and fork on each side of her plate, and he felt her stare at him trough the paper.

"Is there something you need?" He asked absently, while reading about the Hokage party of the millennium. They hadn't really missed out on much. Only the party of their lifetime.

"This is way too casual." She whispered. Kakashi paused his reading and lowered the paper so that he could see her. She was biting her lip and her eyes averted his gaze.

"It's like, it's like…we've been living together for an eternity. Even though I only slept here once before. I have friends you know, girl friends. I don't even know what we are Kakashi, are we friends?" She asked and her green eyes gazed out the window.

"What do you want us to be?" He asked.

"I have been so much in hospital these last few months that I don't even know where I belong anymore, clearly no one does anything about my apartment, even though I've called plenty of times. And you bring me here, every time I'm down and out. Not like it's a bad thing, it's just way too casual." She whispered the last sentence. Her green orbs hesitantly meeting his one eyed black gaze. She had avoided his question.

"I am your friend, Sakura, not your teacher; I do this on my own account." Kakashi murmured.

"You are my teacher still Kakashi, it has not been formally ended, and I think you know that." She said faintly. Kakashi sighed and poured a cup of coffee to her, when he gave it to her, her fingers brushed his and he lingered just a moment longer than he should have. Their eyes locked, and Kakashi wondered if she could read his mind, if so, he would've been a dead man.

"You were about to say something yesterday, before we left to the party, what was it?" Sakura suddenly asked, and Kakashi almost choked on his own coffee. Her changing of subjects was way too abrupt sometimes.

"I can't really rememb…" "You do remember, or else you wouldn't have choked on your coffee." She almost shouted and he realised that she was not in the mood to be pushed aside. Her gaze was intense, and in her green depths he could see something resembling hope, maybe did she have those same forbidden emotions for him. If so, he had to end it before anything happened. She deserved so much better than an old geezer like himself.

"You looked like a crazed dog back then." She said.

"Why thank you Sakura, you're not so bad yourself." He said, and smiled, no she was definitely not so bad, in fact she was extremely beautiful.

"Can't you just tell me what you wanted to say?" She shrieked and stood up so fast that the chair she had been sitting on fell to the ground. Kakashi didn't budge, he had had one moment's weakness and it would not happen again, he could not tell her about his shameful feelings for her.

"Kakashi?" Her voice softened again, and she stepped to stand in front of him. Kakashi looked up at her beautiful face, only to be met by the angriest eyes he had ever seen. Her hands were fists and she was shaking with fury. If she still had had her chakra, she would've killed him.

"If you don't want me around, just say so, don't make me look like a fool." She said lowly and Kakashi sighed inwardly, it was just what he wanted her to do, but not because of the reasons she thought.

"Sakura…"

"No, I won't listen to excuses anymore, I want a straight answer. Do you want me gone? Because that's what you were saying earlier." She growled cutting him off. He sighed, thinking back to before Anko had bashed in the door…

_"I can't be near you Sakura, please leave." _

_"I don't understand…" _

_"Good, you shouldn't, it would only hurt you." _

_"Kakashi, what is this about, tell me? I thought you were my friend?" _

_"Yeah, that's the problem." _

_"What do you mean, I can't make anything out of this, Kakashi." _

_"Just the way you smile, you laugh, you move, you look at me, the way you throw a kunai, how you put up that concentrated look when healing another human being; I'm ashamed that it affects me in such a way. And the worst thing is that you're not even trying." _

_"Could you put it another way, I mean, so it'll be easier for me to understand?"_

_"I think that…"_

"Yes." He said silently, almost murmuring it to himself.

"I'm sorry?" She asked, not hearing his half heartedly murmur. Kakashi looked lazily up at her, catching up with his calm self, shutting every feeling he might have for her, out of his mind in that one painful moment he had to reject her from his life in turn to save her from himself.

"I want you to leave." He said higher and could barely look her in the eye as the lie hit her. If it was something he didn't want was her to leave. And in just a few seconds her eyes mirrored shock, confusion, hurt and least anger, but without a word, she took a few steps back from him, and then calmly walked out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

Kakashi was left with an emptiness he had never imagined could exist. He hoped he had not destroyed his friendship with Sakura, but a gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach told him that he just had shattered every bridge between him and Sakura.

She would live it over though, she was not the one having sinful thoughts about him, and he wondered if it even was starting to become something more than just sinful thoughts. Maybe even some forbidden feelings for his student were becoming more and more evident? He didn't know, he didn't want to know.

Sakura walked calmly out of the apartment block Kakashi lived in, she felt energy being drawn out of her with every step she took, the weaker she felt the closer she came to crying in despair. He had thrown her out, wanted her to leave. She had believed they were friends, she didn't understand why he did this to her. How could the man she had come to love, be so cruel.

She stumbled down the road, not knowing where to go. She just walked, she had to continue walking or else her mischievous mind would break her down crying with depressing thoughts.

She walked and walked, for how long she did not know, she didn't think, she didn't see, it all seemed like a blur. Everyone seemed to let her down these days. Naruto, Ino, Sasuke, Tsunade and Kakashi. Her parents were gone, her apartment damaged, all her friends had family or problems to take care of. Tsunade had robbed her off her life, and so she no longer had a job. Kakashi had just broken her heart, with one cold sentence.

When she finally stopped, and her vision once again saw the world, she was standing in front of the Uchiha Manor. A large iron gate towered in front of her. Confused over her appearance in front of Sasukes home, she didn't notice the man walking towards her from the other side of the gate.

"Sakura." His voice made her eyes snap up to his and she met his black eyes. He stared expectantly at her for some time before he opened the gate with a flick of his wrist. Sakura hesitated before stepping inside the paradise which was the Uchiha's garden.

"Why did you come?" He asked after an awkward silence. Sakura didn't know.

"I…I needed to talk to someone." She murmured silently. Sasuke nodded and lead her inside the large house.

He made her sit down in what looked like the living room and then disappeared into the kitchen, coming back in only a few minutes with two cups of traditional black tea.

Sakura gratefully accepted the steaming cup and watched her late team-mate as he sat down in front of her.

"What's happened?" He asked after a moments silence. Sakura felt her tears well up as she thought about what had happened and painfully bit down on her lip, drawing blood. Sasuke stared at her as a drop of blood trickled down from her lip.

"H-he told me to leave, my life is destroyed, nobody cares anymore." She sobbed one time, two times, and then broke down crying.

She did not remember yelling out accusations at the people she loved and that had been her friends all her life, she even screamed at Sasuke for leaving to get stronger, she yelled at Kakashi for doing what he did. She did not remember falling into Sasukes offered embrace and crying into his black yukata. Sakura did not remember confessing her feelings for Kakashi to Sasuke, but she remembered how he had hugged her protectively to him, telling her it was okay, that he would always be her friend. She did not remember how much that particular sentence had meant to her at that moment, and just a few seconds later she had fallen asleep in his lap, after crying and yelling for several hours.

Sasuke watched her sleep, as he had listened when she screamed, and as he had soothed her when she cried. It had pained him when she told him of her feelings for Kakashi, but even if he had no chance with her, he would be her friend.

He carried her to his own bed, stared down at her with the hint of a content smile on his face. He shut the curtains, turned of the light and left the room so she could sleep.

The more he thought about it, he felt something close to hope being lit. If Kakashi had rejected her, and crushed her heart, which had to mean that he had no feelings for her, and maybe Sasuke again had a chance with the young nurse. Even though her level had dropped somewhat when she told him about her chakra being taken away from her, and that she now was a normal human being, he still loved her. She had been the one drawing him back to Konoha.

Kakashis rejection could also mean that he actually had feelings for her, but rejected her so he wouldn't be breaking unspoken rules by dating his student.

Sasuke sighed and made himself another cup of tea.

"Who would she choose when all came to all." He murmured while thoughtfully sipping on his tea.


	15. Chapter 15

Long time no see, I've been really busy with school and all, and I'm really sorry, but for some time I lost interest in this story. Oh well, no matter.

A person from the past arrives and he has news about a new enemy. WTH?!

Disclaimer: not own Naruto I do

**Chapter 15. **

"Naruto dear, have you slept anything at all?" Hinata asked the blonde man sleeping beside her in her bed. He was staring at the ceiling. His dark blue eyes indicated that he was mad, no that wasn't the right word, furious was more like it. She snuggled closer to him and stared up at the ceiling as well.

"I couldn't." He said and closed his eyes halfway. Hinata sighed.

"You see her face?" She asked.

"Yeah, I do." He turned his head and kissed her nose lovingly. Hinata smiled and kissed him.

"You have to go to work dear." She whispered and handed him his Hokage cloak. Naruto sighed and sat up in the bed.

"I destroyed Sakuras life. Sasuke seems to be unstable, but Tsunade sent him home anyways, Kakashi has been acting strange. Tsunade never got that much of a rough start did she?" He asked Hinata. She laughed.

"You whine more than a seven year old, just get up and shower, you kind of smell." Her voice was cheerful, but underneath it all, she felt sad for him. It was a rough start when he couldn't be there for his friends like he used to. He had other responsibilities now, more important matters than personal issues.

Naruto headed to the bathroom and soon she heard the steady stream of water. Hinata dressed in her own ANBU outfit and waited for her man to come so they could walk to work together.

OOOOOOOOOooooooooOOOOOOOOO

Sakura woke up in alien sheets, and a smell that she didn't really recognise at first. She looked around, everything was so clean and tidy. It almost seemed like noone had slept here before her.

"I never really use my room all that much." A male voice said and Sasuke came into the room, when he saw that she was awake. He brought a large cup of tea. He sat down on the large bed beside her and smiled sadly at her and gave her the cup.

"Drink this, it'll make you feel better, I promise." Sakura forced a smile.

"It hurts to smile doesn't it? Listen, you don't have to put up an act for me." Sasuke said.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize."  
"I'm sorry…I'm sorry." She whispered faintly. Sasuke sighed and reached out his hands and drew her into a warm embrace. Sakura relaxed and hugged him back.

"I think… I love him." She whispered silently, making Sasuke squeeze her harder to him.

"Yeah, I thought so." He murmured into her hair, stroking her soothingly. Sakura felt tears well up inside her again, but she bit them back.

"This is the second person I love who doesn't love me back." She said. Sasuke felt something grab his heart and squeeze.

"I'm sorry, I should have realised sooner."

"It doesn't matter now, surely I'll survive."

OOOOOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOOOOO

Kakashi woke up from something tickling his nose, he opened his one eye and saw a fly sitting on his nose. He blew upwards and scared it away.

Immediately he felt that something was missing, in his mind he thought about the fly, but in his heart…

He stood up, realising that he had fallen asleep on the couch again, sighing he threw a casual glance at the bed which was empty, as empty as he thought it would be. Slightly slumped he walked into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee from the day before.

He sat down by the kitchen table, everything went like in slow-motion, and he just waited for Sakura to waltz in the door with breakfast and the today's news.

Sipping on his coffee, he started realising that what he had done had been terribly selfish. He looked outside, and saw that it was a grey and rainy day, reflecting his own mood pretty well. It was silent, no Sakura that tried to small talk or trick him into a stupid discussion about nothing. How could he be so heartless, she had been trough so much, and then he had to push her away because he himself was…afraid.

Yeah, that had to be it didn't it?

Kakashi had loved one woman, Rin, and she had turned away from him. She had loved Obito, understandable that was though. Obito was the better mach after all, kind and helpful and cheery all the time, until he had died.

Why did everything have to hurt so much every fucking time? He was getting angry with himself now.

Kakashi had survived and seen so many terrible things in his life, he had lost many people in war, but no loss had ever hurt so much as when he now lost Sakuras friendship. She was still alive, but that piece of his heart she had cut loose and brought with her was way too painful.

"It doesn't matter anymore, you have to go on." He muttered into his cup and decided to go to Naruto and ask for a long term mission so he could get away from this village for a while.

"Come in Kakashi." Naruto called from inside his office before Kakashi could knock on his door. Kakashi smiled, there was a reason Naruto was the new Hokage after all.

"Sit down. How's Sakura doing after what happened?" Naruto asked and started digging trough a bunch of papers. Kakashi sat down slowly and smiled uneasily.

"I'm not really sure. I kind of don't know where she is." This made Naruto stop what he was doing and look up, his eyes were red but with normal round pupils. Kakashi sighed.

"We kind of argued, or something." He said. Narutos eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I told you to look out for her. Anyway, I have a mission for you, you look like you need it." Naruto murmured and gave Kakashi the sheet. It was an s-rank mission. A solo mission.

"Be careful on this one right? It could get dangerous, even for someone like you. It's said to be a new version of Akatsuki, but they're pretty unorganised still, we have to stop them getting organised. Are you with me? Oh, yes, one more thing, it's confidential, only you and I know of them yet, you are to consider if they are a threat to us and ours." Naruto asked. Kakashi lingered by one word on the sheet: " Akaikaze" red wind.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Kakashi whispered and tucked the sheet inside his west, hiding it from interested eyes. Naruto nodded.

"Don't get distracted, we know nothing of their ability so you got to be careful." He said.

**"By distraction he means one certain pink haired woman." **Kyuubis voice came from Naruto, and Naruto smiled vaguely by the comment. Kakashi sighed.

"I'll never get used to that." He said before disappearing out the door.

Kakashi headed home, packed down a few Itcha Itcha books and a spare of clothing, some money and then he headed out the door without looking back. If he had been tempted to look back, it would only depress him to see his cold apartment, missing the cosiness it used to hold. That was before Sakura came and left again though. He had never noticed the coldness before she came, but she had seemed to lighten up the whole place, and when she left, he could see how grey his home seemed without her.

It sounded goofy and cliché in his mind, but he couldn't help it though, it was the truth.

When heading towards the Konoha gates he fished out the sheet and read trough facts and his assignment once more.

Six people had been seen wearing a cloak similar to the Akatsuki cloak, only that it was copper red and with black spirals on the ends. Only six were recorded seen, but there could be more of them. The people that had been seen were all male and missing-nin from the mist. One of the survivors from the Akatsuki had also been seen wearing this copper red cloak. Kisame Hoshigaki from Kirigakure, one of the seven swordsmen from mist, the shark man whom used to travel with Uchiha Itachi was the one. He was one of few surviving Akatsuki members. Kakashi didn't know him well, but he knew that Gai and his team had fought against him once. What Akaikazes goal was wasn't known, but they had no good intentions. Red cloaked men had been involved in several murders the last few months, but still they were only located in the land of water and keeping inside the boarders.

Kakashis mission was mostly asking around and evaluate if Akaikaze were a threat to Konoha. It was a boring mission in theory, if he kept out of danger, but he knew himself too well to know that he would not keep out of danger, rather the opposite.

He reached the gate and stopped by the guard house and knocked on the window. A young genin girl peeked out at him and opened the window.

"Signing in for duty?" She asked sweetly. She was cute, couldn't be more than eleven years old with fiery red hair and chocolate brown eyes. Kakashi smiled, she reminded him of how Sakura had looked like when she was twelve.

"Yeah, Hatake Kakashi, three weeks, Kirigakure, solo." He said and saw her writing it down in the book, when she was done, she gave him a nod.

"Write down food, supplies and hotel expenses, and they will be covered when you come back." She said it automatically like she had said it a thousand times before, and she probably had as well.

"Thank you." Kakashi said and walked towards the forest, slowly.

OOOOOOOoooooOOOOOO

Sakura had walked around town all day, looking for a job, but she had no experience in handling money, making food or helping customers. No wonder, she had never had a job like that before. Sakuras dream had been to open a café where villagers and shinobi could meet without feeling the difference in social status. But she had not enough money to buy those houses which could work with her purpose. The only house she could find and afford was an old shack a little outside the centre of the village. It could have been nice if it had looked like it could hold itself together, but it seemed too much to ask for from this shack.

It was depressing looking at houses she couldn't afford, and thoughts about Kakashi didn't make it any easier for her.

She had thanked Sasuke for being a good friend when she needed it, and she was pretty sure that he understood what she meant by that. The two of them would never be anything more than friends. The Sasuke Sakura ship had sailed the day he left her unconscious on that bench.

After a while looking at houses and finding none of them cheap enough, she just walked aimlessly around town, but the rush hours were starting so the streets were crowded. She made her way out of the centre of the village and suddenly got a strange urge to take a walk around Konoha. She had used to walk around Konoha with her parents when she was younger, before the terrible accident.

Thoughts flowed comfortably trough her mind, even though the thoughts weren't comfortable, as she couldn't get herself from thinking about Kakashi, her own statement and what she was to do next. The revenge on Rayuu had been shoved into the back of her mind as she had no chance against him now.

The sandals felt uncomfortable, so she took them of and held them loosely in her hand; she stood still, just feeling the sensation of moss between her toes. So soft and innocent.

Suddenly she felt the urge to run, and she did. Her hair flowing behind her, her muscles contracting every time she made contact with the ground. She still was strong. Training trough years had built up her muscles, and even without chakra she was a fast sprinter.

It felt good to be free, all her thoughts and worries leaving her, no, she left them behind, and felt only the joy of running under the trees.

Her joy was short lived though, and she came to an immediate halt when she saw him, standing there, leaning on a tree, watching her curiously, casually.

OOOOOOooooOOOOOOOO

She stopped when she finally noticed him. He had watched her run for quite some time. It was amusing how this normal girl could find joy in running trough the forest like a maniac. But she had found joy in doing such an incredible unnecessary thing, he was good at reading faces, and hers had been bathed in pure joy. Though he himself couldn't understand such a feeling, as he never really had experienced joy, not even as a child.

She was a strange girl though, with pink hair, which seemed real enough, and emerald green orbs. She was what most men would call beautiful, he thought she looked ordinary, special, but ordinary. Not that he had any interest in conversing with this girl at all, he had a different mission completely and she would only waste his time. It was interesting though, to see her reaction, see if she knew who he was. He still was an s-class missing nin after all, and she seemed old enough to know about him.

"What are _you_ doing here?" She had a strong authorial voice and put extra emphasis on the "you", not what he had expected from a regular citizen. She wasn't even shinobi, how dared she talk like that to him?

"I need to speak with your Hokage. Uzumaki Naruto." He said, not bothering with her rude tone. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and she seemed somewhat familiar. Strange that was though, as he never usually mixed with regulars.

"Naruto don't have time for murderers and traitors." She spat venomously. His eye twitched, how dared she insult him in such a manner, hadn't his brother told these stupid citizens what the real reasons for his crimes were? And then there were the casual way she addressed her own Hokage, even though he was new in the job, regulars usually treated their Hokages like gods.

"But if you have a message I could evaluate if it's of importance or not, and I'll bring it to him if it is." She snapped saucily.

"What would a normal, insignificant citizen know of important or not in the shinobi world, little girl?" He asked acidly, growing impatient with this woman.

"What would a traitor know of me being insignificant if I dare ask, oh wise one?" She mocked, but a new fire had been lit in her eyes now. The comment about being insignificant had hit home obviously. He smirked.

"What's your name woman?" He asked, truthfully interested in knowing who this fierce girl was. Her face softened somewhat when he asked.

"Haruno Sakura." She said. And everything fell into place. Of course he had heard of one of Konohas greatest medic nins, only second after the Godaime Tsunade of course. And a former team mate of Uzumaki Naruto, which explained the informalities when she spoke of him. She had all the right to be fierce then. But what he did not understand was her closed chakra channels, it was almost like someone had closed them on purpose.

Suddenly he felt the presence of someone familiar nearing, this time a strong shinobi. He turned around a saw a silver haired man coming their way.

If he remembered correctly his name was Hatake Kakashi. When Kakashi came closer he could se a plain face and in his hand he held a small orange book.

A gasp could be heard from the girl standing a few steps behind him, she obviously did not want to meet her former sensei, maybe he had been the one to close her chakra channels.

"Hatake Kakashi." He greeted the somewhat older man.

"Uchiha Itachi, what are you doing here, this is Konoha land." Kakashi asked coldly. Itachi smiled.

"I have some information on your new enemy in Mist, and I think the Hokage would like to hear it." He said and glanced over his shoulder at Sakura. Kakashis one eye followed his glance and his eye landed on Sakuras worried face.

"Hello Sakura."

OOOOOOOOOO

Thanks for bearing with me. And all your support is so helping me a lot, thank you all who reviews and keeps on reading. I really appreciate it.


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